Selected problems of terrorist threats to the transport infrastructure

The paper presents problems of terrorism threats for transportation infrastructure. The range of transportation infrastructure has spread, and includes railway, inland waterways, road, maritime, air, intermodal transport infrastructure and intelligent transport systems (ITS). ITS means systems in which information and communication technologies are applied in the field of road transport, including infrastructure, vehicles and users, and in traffic management and mobility management, as well as for interfaces with other modes of transport. ITS application means an operational instrument for the application of ITS. ITS service is the provision of an ITS application through a welldefined organisational and operational framework with the aim of contributing to the user safety, efficiency, comfort and/or to facilitate or support transport and travel operations. Terrorism means acts of violence committed by groups that view themselves as victimized by some notable historical wrong. Although these groups have no formal connection with governments, they usually have the financial and moral backing of sympathetic governments. Typically, they stage unexpected attacks on civilian targets, including transport infrastructure, with the aim of sowing fear and confusion. Based on the analyses, transportation infrastructure is potentially threatened with terrorism attacks, especially road and rail infrastructure (about 23 %), and to a smaller degree the maritime and air transport infrastructure (about 2 %). Legal steps to fight terrorism have been taken on the international level; furthermore, some institutions have been established for this purpose at the UN, NATO and UE level as well as Poland too.