UK's Prime Minister Boris Johnson takes Amtrak from NYC-WAS to visit White House

Probably on Acela, imagine the security with a head of state riding the rails from NYC-WAS

https://wgnradio.com/news/political-new ... mtrak-joe/

Johnson hopped aboard an Amtrak train in New York City on Tuesday, after addressing the U.N. General Assembly, to get to a White House meeting with Biden.

“Amtrak Joe” — a nickname the president earned for his regular commutes — took note as the leaders exchanged pleasantries while opening their meeting in the Oval Office.

“You came down on Amtrak, is that right?” Biden said.

Johnson replied that he, in fact, did. “And you are a living deity on Amtrak, I can tell you,” he replied.

Biden joked that he has traveled so many miles on Amtrak — millions, he says an Amtrak conductor once told him — that “if I were a conductor I’d be No. 1 in seniority.”

Nice set of pixs on this link

https://nypost.com/2021/09/21/uk-pm-bor ... ith-biden/

Cool! Can only help Amtrak's reputation.

frequentflyer wrote: ↑Tue Sep 21, 2021 10:54 pm Probably on Acela, imagine the security with a head of state riding the rails from NYC-WAS

https://wgnradio.com/news/political-new ... mtrak-joe/

I would imagine the UK's standards aren't the same as the US standards. How paranoid is UK's Prime Minister Security?

STrRedWolf wrote: ↑Wed Sep 22, 2021 9:35 am

frequentflyer wrote: ↑Tue Sep 21, 2021 10:54 pm Probably on Acela, imagine the security with a head of state riding the rails from NYC-WAS

https://wgnradio.com/news/political-new ... mtrak-joe/

I would imagine the UK's standards aren't the same as the US standards. How paranoid is UK's Prime Minister Security?

Considering the Queen herself has been seen traveling on regularly scheduled services with barely anyone noticing, I'd say not nearly as much.

I mean, most people wouldn't give much notice to Brian May, Roger Taylor, and Adam Lambert....

scratchyX1 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 22, 2021 11:51 am I mean, most people wouldn't give much notice to Brian May, Roger Taylor, and Adam Lambert....

Well, maybe not THOSE three, but as for the guy who retired back near the dawn of the web...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN0rfgZvvM8

frequentflyer wrote: ↑Tue Sep 21, 2021 10:54 pm Probably on Acela, imagine the security with a head of state riding the rails from NYC-WAS

The head of state involved was President Biden, who probably knew the crew by name; Boris Johnson is head of government, the British head of state being Queen Elizabeth. Protocol is all.

STrRedWolf wrote: ↑Wed Sep 22, 2021 9:35 am

frequentflyer wrote: ↑Tue Sep 21, 2021 10:54 pm Probably on Acela, imagine the security with a head of state riding the rails from NYC-WAS

https://wgnradio.com/news/political-new ... mtrak-joe/

I would imagine the UK's standards aren't the same as the US standards. How paranoid is UK's Prime Minister Security?

Not very. The UK PM regularly travels on normal scheduled rail services at home. A few years back a fellow passenger on a train to Scotland got a picture of David Cameron sound asleep with the PM's red despatch box on the seat beside him. And as noted below, members of the Royal Family also travel on regular services.

It's a striking contrast, particularly considering that in the IRA members of the British government faced an armed threat far more deadly and serious than anything in recent US experience.

There would be a couple of security details close by .

Security has changed a lot in recent decades. I happened to be in London (1966?) when the President of Austria and wife arrived on a state visit -- reported to be the first state visit of an Austrian Head of State in something like 1500 years; they flew to Gatwick, where they were met by some of the Royal family and conveyed by the Royal Train to Platform 2 at Victoria, as God intended, to be greeted by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. I walked without question or interruption to the end of Platform 3-4 and got a nice shot of the arriving train, displaying crossed Union Jack and Austrian flags on the front of the (electro-diesel) locomotive, along with headcode 10 (Gatwick-Victoria nonstop), with regular trains handling boarding and alighting passengers the while, on the same platform 3-4. The whole entourage then boarded a procession of horse-drawn carriages for the trip to Buckingham Palace, the route of which was published in that morning's papers and lined with spectators. (Beautiful weather.) Hard to picture today.

Ridgefielder wrote: ↑Tue Sep 28, 2021 12:59 pm Not very. The UK PM regularly travels on normal scheduled rail services at home.

And as noted below, members of the Royal Family also travel on regular services.

It's a striking contrast, particularly considering that in the IRA, members of the British government
faced an armed threat far more deadly and serious than anything in recent US experience.

One recent example was Mayor Bloomberg regularly riding the subway, with security escort. And
many members of Congress (Schumer, Nadler, Booker, also late Senator Lautenberg for instance are
among regulars along the NEC).

Do top Canadian officials ride VIA regularly within "the Corridor"?

ExCon90 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 29, 2021 8:35 pm Security has changed a lot in recent decades. I happened to be in London (1966) when the
President of Austria and wife arrived on a state visit, the whole entourage then boarded a
procession of horse-drawn carriages for the trip to Buckingham Palace, the route of which
was published in that morning's papers and lined with spectators. Hard to picture today.

In fact the whole Kennedy tragedy was less than three years earlier, because of that, routes of
high level officials are usually no longer published or announced to the public, except in some
campaign tours or inaugurals.