Feds to Do for Trains What They've Done to Airlines

One of the joys of our recent train trip up to L.A. and back (my trip slide show is here), and our past trips down to San Diego or up to Ventura was the ease of getting on and off the train. No security lines, no "janitors with a gun" inspecting our bags, making us take off our shoes or forcing us to walk through metal detectors and show ID every few feet. On the trains they treat you like the good citizens you are rather than treat everyone as a terrorist. In fact, we were on the train for over 30 minutes before anyone even asked to see a ticket. We could have ridden from Irvine to Buena Park without paying a dime.

That's about to change:

Amtrak passengers will have to submit to random screening of carry-on bags in a major security push that will include officers with automatic weapons and bomb-sniffing dogs patrolling platforms and trains, the railroad plans to announce today.

The initiative is a significant shift for Amtrak. Unlike airlines, it has had relatively little visible increase in security since the 2001 terrorist attacks, a distinction that has enabled it to attract passengers eager to avoid airport hassles.

Amtrak officials insist their new procedures won't obstruct the flow of passengers.

"On-time performance is a key element of Amtrak service. We are fully mindful of that. This is not about train delays," said Bill Rooney, the railroad's vice president for security strategy and special operations.

Nor will the moves require passengers to arrive at stations far in advance, officials said. Passengers who are selected randomly for the screening will be delayed no more than a couple of minutes, said Alex Kummant, Amtrak chief executive.

"We're very conscious of the fact that you're in an environment where commuters have minutes to go from train to train," he said.

The Metrolink commuter line we rode on made all their stops in 30-40 seconds and boarded trains at two doors in each of the 5 cars. Even the AMTRAK trains pause for only a minute or so and generally run longer trains. Controlling all those points of access would be impossible to do in a short period of time.

At a place like Union Station in Los Angeles it would be possible to screen passengers before they head up the tunnels to the train ramps, but at many of the places we stopped on our way to L.A. the stations are wide open with unlimited access points.

My guess is we'll be treated to strolling guards who randomly stop passengers and inconvenience them while waiting to board. Once people catch on to that they'll simply wait until the last moment to walk out onto the train platform. I learned a lot about avoiding random screening* in airports by observing the TSA people and the pattern with which they did their work, and I'm sure it won't be that tough to avoid the train cops either.

*My favorite story about avoiding screening was a quartet trip we made in 2002, not long after 9/11. At that time the screeners (TSA hadn't come into being yet) were instructed to pull people out of the boarding line and inspect their belongings "at random". In reality, they'd grab the next guy in line, and when they were done with him, they'd grab whoever was unfortunate enough to be next - usually some poor guy who's just handing his ticket to the agent. I learned to wait until they grabbed someone and then I'd jump in line and be on the plane before they finished with the victim and started looking for the next one.

I watched the screeners pull a four-year old boy out of line and search his little backpack because he happened to be next (how stupid), but my favorite situation was in Dallas. While waiting for our flight we were talking to a young college student who was complaining that she had already been searched three times that day. She was very attractive and dressed in a manner which invited unwanted attention from the screeners. I told the guys in the quartet to be sure and get in line behind her because the screeners would undoubtedly pull her out and we could walk on the plane unmolested. That's exactly what happened, too.