Amtrak policy during the RNC at Penn Station

AMTRAK has just published it's restrictions for Penn Station during the upcoming RNC.....it looks like most trains that serve NYP including Empire Corridor Services will require reservations and everyone will be required to use ID when purchasing tickets...see more in the release below:
http://www.amtrak.com/press/atk20040726069.html

(Although AMTRAK's policy is currently to ask for ID when selling tickets, I've been sold tickets w/o being asked for ID before, plus you can skip having to present ID when you buy via the phone and/or quik trak)

A quote from the Amtrak press release:

The only trains excepted from the reservation requirement will be the three weekend roundtrip Keystone service trains and the nine Keystone and Clocker roundtrips operating on weekdays.

From a security standpoint I don't see how this exception makes any sense at all. If reservations are necessary for security reasons, you really should require them for all Amtrak trains to/from/via NYP during this period, without exception. From a logic standpoint this is analogous to saying that people who fly on commuter airlines shouldn't have to go through the normal security checks at the airport?

The temporary all-reserved status of the Regionals and the Empire Corridor trains is not primarily for enhanced security -- it is for crowd control. Whatever security benefits are derived from the plan are secondary and coincidental. Amtrak will be hard-pressed to beef up consists to accommodate extraordinarily high-demands for specific departures. Hence, make the trains all-reserved and sell only the seats that are available in the consists.

Primarily, from a security standpoint, preventing "standing-room only" trains will expedite the security sweeps. And having a more complete and accurate passenger manifest for virtually every train on the two routes will be of some benefit as well.

The press release simply states that there will be enhanced security during the RNC -- it does not directly correlate the decision to make the trains all-reserved as a step towards enhancing security.

I like the Idea of these all Reserve Trains for Crowd Control also could they during off peak go to a Limited Service during non Rush Hour like 10AM to 2:30 PM and 7PM to 5AM would that be possilble?

AmtrakFan