Trenton Times front page article re: NJT photography ban

Today's Trenton Times has a front page/top fold article by Tom Hester
about NJT's photography ban. The writer even contacted Bert Krages
who wrote the "Photographer's Rights" page linked elsewhere here
in the Forums. Slant of the piece is certainly not toward NJT.http://nj.com/times/ Headline states "Shutterbugs Beware".

I predict in two weeks NJT will have rescinded its ban, returning the permitting requirement to photos taken on NJT property only.

^Well I hope so but I can't see NJT backing down from its standing with all of the security issues of today.

relevant to this newspaper article was a news story on wkyw's am broadcast today that reveals that there is a heightened state of security in the Phila. area in effect this week as yesterday several people were seen photographing and filming coommuter trains in the area.

It has also been reported that an Acela out of Philly was stopped and inspect for bomb threat and that some type of motion detector device was found in a Septa yard near 30th St.

I think it is time for this country to institute a version of England's WWII Home guard. Fat bums like me that lucked out because there was no draft or hot war during my youth should be required to serve time for this country, walking the rails, roads, chem plants, etc. protecting our infrastructure.

Well, you all know my thoughts and feelings on this whole thing anyway, but im going to make a different point, in general, about the photography ban.

I would not be surprised if its the Secret Service or CIA or FBI or whoever making the railroads issue these restrictions (other than NJT, as they apparently have had this ban in effect for a number of years) due to the upcoming Republican Convention in NYC in a few months.

I find it very curious that all these stories are coming out now, and that the MTA has just issued a similar ban.

The Secret Service may be requiring RR's to come up with these bans, or strengthen and enforce existing bans ahead of time to get people aware of them and away from the ROW's and trains come August or Sept when the convention is.

Will it do anything? I seriously doubt it, but I think that after the convention is over, things will become more lax once again.

But also, as JLo noted in the above post, there have been recent incidents, both reported in the media and not, of suspicious people around the ROW's in the region, who were checked out to be doing or having some not very nice things - im not going to get into it, so don't even ask!!!

In several instances, reported by alert engineers or trainmen or other railroaders - doing exactly what it seems that some people don't want railroader's doing.....Its not always easy to make out a railfan from a regular person from a terrorist or potential terrorist when traveling 80, 90, 100 mph.

Its a very scary time out there, things aren't the way they were, and we ALL have to adapt!!!!

Today's press also has reports that "the New Jersey Attorney General's office is investigating at least seven instances in the last week of suspected surveillance along [the NEC]" It goes on to say people were filming "in an apparantly systematic way" . . . triggering "a massive countersurveillance program" including "interviewing witnesses and conducting polygraph tests."

relevant to this newspaper article was a news story on wkyw's am broadcast today

Not to be a "knitpicker", but the correct call letters for both the radio station at AM 1060 and the television station at Channel 3 in Philadelphia is just plain KYW. WKYW is a radio station in Frankfort, Kentucky.