Railroad security shortchanged, Engel says

The security of the nation's rail systems is being shortchanged by federal officials so concerned about air safety that they don't give ground transportation a high enough priority, Rep. Eliot Engel, D-Bronx, charged yesterday.

Engel stood at the Suffern train station surrounded by local elected and emergency officials, noting that one in three terrorist attacks worldwide since 1997 has involved a transit system, yet the Bush administration expects to spend 90 percent of its anti-terrorism budget on air traffic.

http://www.thejournalnews.com/newsroom/ ... engel.html

And airlines aren't transit??

It is easy, all too easy, to hijack a plane. Not all planes have secure cockpit doors, only those that routinely fly in U.S. airspace. Much harder to get from passenger area of a train into the cab of a loco. And you can't take a train ANYWHERE if you do get in the cab.

Besides, 4 planes were used to kill 3,000 people and destroy billions in property and economic value. NO train can do that! The money goes to the greatest potential damage threat. NYC alone has 3 major airports, plus several "regional" ones (LaGuardia, Kennedy, Newark, Stewart, Teterboro, MacArthur, Westchester). Any plane hijacked at any of these airports would be only minutes away from a potential repeat of 9/11. There would be no time to shoot it down, regardless of what the 9/11 Commission might determine.

Like any govt program, Engel is only thinking of what he can divert from the funding to his area. He is only looking to say, "Look what I did for YOU!" at the next election.

It is possible to hijack a passenger train - and a lot of damage could be done (i.e., intentionally running a red into an oncoming train, breaking speed limits and derailling it, etc. But that's easy to stop (i.e., passenger or conductor simply pulls the emergency cord in a passenger car - or they can try pulling the pin on the knuckle like they did in Silver Streak).

The big concern, for example, is an intentional derailment on a fast stretch of the NE Corridor on a bridge over a river during peak travel time which can have very deadly consequences. The Madrid bombings further underscore passenger security - but you'll never be able to fully secure a transit system - otherwise, fares will go through the roof and people will go back to their cars.

Additionally, you have the usual concerns about a hazmat incident - but those kinds of attacks are practically impossible for a terrorist to plan for.

Airlines are much much more vulnerable - and there's a greater psychological impact of an airline disaster than you would get from a train disaster. Thankfully since 9/11, much has been done to harden airline security.