US vigilant on rail systems after UK bombing

From police with machine guns at New York's Grand Central Terminal to extra identity checks at random Amtrak stations, security at the nation's subways and railways was stepped up almost immediately after the London bombings.

While intelligence and law-enforcement officials stress there has been no threat against the rail system in the United States, they're also cognizant that the nation remains a target. Even more worrisome, the apparently coordinated wave of bombings in London is raising new questions about the gaps in security that remain in the US transportation system - and, by most accounts, they are considerable.

"Obviously we're concerned about the possibility of a copycat attack," said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. "[But] I think our transit systems are safe."

Since 9/11, security has been tightened on Amtrak and in subways in the form of increased police presence, random searches by bomb-sniffing dogs, and significantly boosted security training for personnel. In most major train stations, trash cans are now bomb-resistant, and agents specially trained in biohazards and explosives routinely patrol.

Homeland Security officials have also undertaken several pilot projects, including experimenting with sensors to detect weapons of mass destruction and creating special vehicles for security screening.

And in the past two years, the Transportation Security Administration has devoted $10 million to mobile canine explosive inspection teams that go to key facilities like train stations, terminals, and passenger rail cars, according to Russ Knocke, a Department of Homeland Security spokesman. The department has also allocated $115 million to help urban areas increase security of mass transit. And immediately after the Madrid bombings, it hired 100 new rail security inspectors.

"We're always looking for ways to enhance our rail-security capabilities, information-sharing, and advanced technology," says Mr. Knocke.

Still, critics have long contended that rail security is being shortchanged because of the emphasis on airline security. They're additionally frustrated because the very nature of rail and subway service makes it difficult to protect, as the recent bombings of mass-transit commuter systems in London, Madrid, and Moscow have shown.

The biggest problem is their sprawling nature. Train tracks run for millions of miles throughout the US, with thousands of bridges and tunnels in densely populated urban areas and remote mountain locations.

Most major train stations have numerous entrances and multiple tracks. And along with the subways, millions of people ride the rails everyday.

"There are essentially no security arrangements for commuter rail. It's a very difficult problem," says Steven Simon, a senior analyst at the RAND Corp. in Washington. "Ridership is just huge, the density of the users is very high, and people are in a hurry. It hasn't proved practical yet to search people or pass their bags through any kind of screening device."

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