Update: CSX train derailment

Sat Jul 21 08:28:21 UTC 2001

"Rivers and bridges"?

Either Frank is sensationalizing his comments for the benefit of the
press, or he's been asleep since '93.

Seems to me the so-called "choke-points" now are more social and fiscal
than physical - I doubt rivers and bridges are much of an issue.

:According to the Baltimore Sun, companies have laid 30,000 feet of
:emergency fiber to patch around the damage in the Howard Tunnel.
:
:  "There was a ripple effect around the country with corporate networks
:   due to this Baltimore disaster," said Frank Stanton, an executive with
:   Lexent Inc., a New York-based company that repaired fiber-optic cable
:   after the World Trade Center bombing in 1993. "Everybody thinks they
:   have redundancy, but these type incidents show people there are huge
:   issues. When you cross rivers and bridges, these choke points are the
:   Achilles' heel." 
:
:On the Washington DC to New York City fiber route, there seems to be
:at least one train derailment leading to significant network traffic
:re-routes every year.