| Abysmal Amtrak Rail Security
by Joel Hanson
Two years after the 9/11 attacks, the Bush administration
civil-liberties busting attempts to protect the American populace from
future terrorist attacks have thus far neglected one legitimately
vulnerable transportation network: the Amtrak Rail System.
One month after the 9/11 attacks, Senator Dick Durbin proposed a
$4.5-billion bill to improve Amtrak security--a sum that was whittled
down to $1.8 billion by the Senate Commerce Committee but approved on
October 17, 2001. Then, a year later, Senator Tom Caper authored a
$1.2-billion amendment to a homeland security bill in an effort to
secure more money for Amtrak security concerns. Caper specifically
earmarked $375 million to bolster security at all train stations,
bridges, tunnels, tracks, and rail yards of the Amtrak system. After
initial approval by the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, the
amendment was dropped in a later version of the bill.
In the aftermath, Caper was unequivocal in his assessment of the
vulnerability of America's rail system. "Our failure to act to improve
the security of our rail travel is an Achilles heel in our nation's
efforts to secure our transportation system... We have focused a
significant amount of attention on preventing future airline hijackings
but have failed to act to protect our nation's passenger rail services.
We must ensure that the passengers aboard our trains are as safe as the
ones in the skies over America."
A year later, Caper's rail system caveat remains unheeded--most likely
because Amtrak is a financial liability as far as the federal government
is concerned and is thus a low priority for homeland security dollars.
Despite $25 billion in subsidies in the first 30 years of its existence,
the federal government has not discovered how to transform Amtrak's
train system into a profitable business or a viable transportation
alternative for domestic travelers. According to Joseph Vranich, a
former Amtrak Reform Council member, Amtrak trains accounted for only
22.5 million of the 685 million domestic trips Americans took in 2000.
Amtrak ridership increased shortly after the September 11 attacks but
remains an unattractive travel option, Vranich maintains, because of its
slow trains and abysmal percentage of on-time arrivals. Amtrak's
habitual tardiness is likely caused by the fact that Amtrak must share
its passenger rail lines with trains carrying commerical cargo, but its
suppositious security poses an ever greater problem for rail customers.
How vulnerable are Amtrak trains to potential terrorist attacks? In
August, I boarded a train in Olympia, WA with a large duffel bag and
purchased a ticket without a photo ID or baggage screening of any kind.
In light of Amtrak's non-existent security--at least on its
Seattle-to-Portland Cascade line--perhaps a better question might be: how
has Amtrak managed to avoid terrorist targeting thus far?
Increased train station security--or any security--will inevitably add
travel time to Amtrak's chronically sluggish trains, making Amtrak an
even less attractive option for travelers discouraged by high gasoline
prices and expensive airline tickets. But if the federal government is
truly interested in making Amtrak a successful and profitable
transportation alternative, it must invest a lot more money into
refurbishing America's third-rate transportation infrastructure. Amtrak
needs high-speed trains, new and more direct rail lines designed
exclusively for passenger travel that are connected to light rail and
subway systems in every major US city--and lower ticket prices. And the
government must immediately invest the appropriate amount of money to
insure that Amtrak passengers are provided the same security measures
available at every American airport. We need sustained public pressure
to accomplish this daunting task; Amtrak's survival and the safety of
its passengers depend on it.
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