[Infowarrior] - Amtrak unveils new security measures

[Richard Forno]

Amtrak to unveil new security measures including random bag screening

By SARAH KARUSH | Associated Press Writer
    3:49 PM CST, February 18, 2008

http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/chi-amtrak-security-measures-story,0,30
42844.story

WASHINGTON - Amtrak passengers will have to submit to random screening of
carry-on bags in a major new security push that will include officers with
automatic weapons and bomb-sniffing dogs patrolling platforms and trains,
the railroad planned to announce Tuesday.

The initiative is a significant shift for Amtrak. Unlike the airlines, it
has had relatively little visible increase in security since the 2001
terrorist attacks, a distinction that has enabled it to attract passengers
eager to avoid airport hassles.

Amtrak officials insist their new procedures won't hold up the flow of
passengers.

"On-time performance is a key element of Amtrak service. We are fully
mindful of that. This is not about train delays," Bill Rooney, the
railroad's vice president for security strategy and special operations, told
The Associated Press.

Nor will the moves require passengers to arrive at stations far in advance,
officials said. Passengers who are selected randomly for the screening will
be delayed no more than a couple of minutes, Amtrak chief executive Alex
Kummant said.

"We're very conscious of the fact that you're in an environment where
commuters have minutes to go from train to train," he said.

Concern about Amtrak security has been mounting since the 2004 bombings of
commuter trains in Madrid that killed 191 people. Trains also have been
bombed in London, where 52 people were killed in a series of blasts in 2005,
most of them on subway trains, and in Mumbai, India, where 200 people were
killed in 2006 on commuter trains. Russia also has had several bombings on
subway, commuter and long-distance trains.

The new procedures draw heavily on measures being used in the New York City
subways, Rooney said. That model has been upheld in court challenges, he
noted.

Amtrak plans to roll out the new "mobile security teams" first on the
Northeast Corridor between Washington and Boston, the railroad's most
heavily used route, before expanding them to the rest of the country.

The teams will show up unannounced at stations and set up baggage screening
areas in front of boarding gates. Officers will randomly pull people out of
line and wipe their bags with a special swab that is then put through a
machine that detects explosives. If the machine detects anything, officers
will open the bag for visual inspection.

Anybody who is selected for screening and refuses will not be allowed to
board and their ticket will be refunded.

In addition to the screening, counterterrorism officers with bomb-sniffing
dogs will patrol platforms and walk through trains, and sometimes will ride
the trains, officials said.

Tim Connors, director of the Center for Policing Terrorism at the Manhattan
Institute, said rail systems require a completely different approach to
security from the one used in aviation.

"Rail moves a lot more people than air does," he said. "It's designed to be
an open system that can move a lot of people fast."

Connors said random screening could be effective.

"A random approach is actually more effective than a constant one," he said,
adding that when procedures don't change, it's easier for would-be
terrorists to find weak spots.

Amtrak hopes the new force can serve as a powerful deterrent to would-be
terrorists.

"What we are trying to do is make sure the bad guys know we're out there but
don't know where we'll be, or when," Rooney said.

Amtrak did not provide figures for the program's cost, but said its total
security budget -- including police, security strategy and emergency
preparedness -- is about $60 million. The railroad has about 400 security
personnel, including about 300 sworn police officers, Kummant said.

Amtrak's previous passenger screening consisted of sporadic identification
checks by train conductors, which the railroad says it plans to continue.
Passengers also are required to show ID when buying tickets from station
agents, though there is no such requirement from passengers buying tickets
from self-serve kiosks.

The Transportation Security Administration is also expected to continue
sporadic deployments to stations around the country.

Amtrak has received a number of federal grants aimed at boosting security,
but officials said there was no specific mandate to implement the changes.

"There is no new or different specific threat," Kummant said. "This is just
the correct step to take."

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On the Net:

Amtrak: http://www.amtrak.com/