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Amtrak Will Screen Passengers' Bags

by The Associated Press | February 19, 2008 at 05:51 am

924 views | 0 Recommendations | 5 comments

by cop2061

Amtrak will start randomly screening passengers' carry-on bags this week in a new security push that includes officers with automatic weapons and bomb-sniffing dogs patrolling platforms and trains.

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The initiative, to be announced by the railroad on Tuesday, 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.

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Brian A Kennedy

flagged this story as News Wanted

at 06:16 on February 19th, 2008

I think this is an important story and would benefit from other NowPublic contributors working on it. I've flagged it as News Wanted and invite others in relevant locations to look for more evidence.

cynthia yoo

at 08:27 on February 19th, 2008

Here's some further information on the new measures from the Amtrak site:

"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." (excerpt from the AP article above)

Among these security measures, passengers may notice any of the following in stations or aboard trains:

Uniformed police officers or Mobile Security Teams
Random passenger and carry-on baggage screening
K-9 units
Checked baggage screening
On-board security checks
Identification checks

cop2061

at 16:37 on February 19th, 2008

It is about time the Amtrak Police make an attempt to improve security on their trains. With 300 sworn officers across the country, there effort is a too much hype and lacks the personnel to really do much.
Out of the 300 there is a small percentage that have had any specialized training. Even fewer with trained canines.

cop2061 has contributed a photo to this story.