May 24, 2013
Terror on the tracks
Written by Jim Cameron
Monday, 11 January 2010 16:13
We’ve already seen that trains make attractive targets for bombers. After the Madrid bombings in March 2004 and the London subway attacks in 2005, it is really only a matter of time before terrorism once again strikes such a vulnerable target as mass transit.
Our government has proven itself unable to protect the homeland, so seeing state troopers and police riding Metro-North trains seems like an act of public relations, propping up public opinion, rather than acting as any deterrence.
According to the House Transportation Committee, since 9/11, we’ve spent $11 billion improving aviation security, or $9.16 per passenger. In the same time we’ve only spent $115 million on mass transit, or $0.006 per passenger.
Homeland Security has tried some experiments in improving rail safety. On Amtrak, police (often with dogs) “show the colors” with a walk-through of Acela trains leaving Penn Station. Conductors also ask for passengers IDs on a random basis. Is this deterrence?
But their craziest experiment of all happened right here in Connecticut.
In July 2004, a Shore Line East train was outfitted with an extra car carrying bomb-sniffing dogs and metal detecting equipment (on loan from manufacturer General Electric, which obviously is eyeing lucrative contracts). Passengers boarding the train at all stations first had to enter the “security car,” and as the train moved along, were screened for explosives. That’s right … they got on the train and then were screened. But, isn’t the idea to keep the bombs off of the trains, not find them in transit?
What can realistically be done to improve safety on our trains and subways? In my view … not much. There are hundreds of miles of track, scores of stations and thousands of passengers to control. Consider some of the possibilities:
• ID checks before boarding? For what purpose … and of what deterrence value?
• Airport-style “secure zones” and screenings at stations? Can you imagine thousands of riders arriving 60 to 90 minutes before departure to queue for pat-downs twice each day? They’d abandon the trains and be back in their cars in a flash.
• A cop on every train? Be honest. Do you really think a determined suicide bomber would stop at his grizzly task if he saw a cop on the train? And with a 10-car Metro-North train carrying more passengers than a 747, what good is a cop at the front of the train if something happens a quarter-mile behind him in the rear car?
• Bomb-sniffing dogs on every train? Maybe. But we don’t have anywhere near enough trained canines to handle the hundreds of trains each day on Metro-North.
So what’s a commuter to do? In my view … rely on your own instincts. Be watchful of your surroundings, unattended bags and suspicious behavior. As they remind us — if you see something that doesn’t look right — say something.
Shortly after the Madrid bombings, I was on a Metro-North train headed into the city when a passenger came into my car, spoke softly with the conductor and sat down. Two other passengers followed him, now speaking in more excited tones. They said there was a dark-skinned man in the other car, sweating profusely, looking at his watch, reading an Arabic newspaper and playing with something in his briefcase.
The conductor radioed ahead, and our train was stopped in the Bronx. Metropolitan Transportation Authority police in body armor boarded and took the man off the train.
To my eye, he looked like any other commuter. Perhaps he was sweating because he’d run for the train, and was looking at his watch because he was late for an appointment. Maybe he was fumbling with something in his briefcase because he was trying to find his Blackberry. He could have been reading a foreign newspaper in his native tongue, to catch up on the news. The gentleman looked Indian, not Arabic; but he offered no resistance when he climbed off the train.
Paranoia? Xenophobia? Or have our enemies really won and left us terrorized?
I’m still riding the train and taking the subways. But I don’t linger in Grand Central, a perfect target for a suicide bomber.
In all honesty, the debacle over the Detroit jet bombing attempt convinces me that our government can do nothing to prevent the inevitable … further terrorist attacks right here in the United States.
Jim Cameron has been a commuter out of Darien for 18 years. He is chairman of the CT Metro-North/Shore Line East Rail Commuter Council, and a member of the Coastal Corridor TIA and the Darien RTM. You can reach him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or trainweb.org/ct .
For a full collection of “Talking Transportation” columns, see talkingtransportation.blogspot.com.
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