FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 14, 2004
SCHUMER: MADRID ATTACKS SHOULD BE WAKE-UP CALL TO UPGRADE
RAIL AND SUBWAY SECURITY
Senator: Feds have been focusing on air security but should
make developing anti-explosive detection devices for subways &
trains a high priority
Schumer also proposes additional funding for transit police
and $350 million to upgrade rail tunnels under NYC
Standing outside an East Side IRT subway station, US Senator Charles
E. Schumer today said that the tragic terrorist bombings in Madrid
this week should serve as a wake-up call to the United States to
finally get serious about improving rail security. In light of this
week's events, Schumer proposed a 3-point plan to speed up the development
of bomb-detecting sensors for subway and rail stations, provide
more federal funds to help cash-strapped cities and transit systems
pay for additional police patrols in stations and on trains, and
send New York an additional $350 million to improve rail tunnel
safety in and under New York City, which is by far the busiest rail
passenger hub in the nation.
Schumer also announced that before leaving Washington for recess
on Friday, he co-sponsored new bipartisan legislation to give the
US Department of Homeland Security $515 million to develop ways
to secure passenger and freight rails in the United States.
"In Madrid, they are calling Thursday's terror attacks 'Spain's
9/11' – and that's right on the money on several levels,"
Schumer said. "In a certain way, Spain's innocence about international
terrorism was shattered this week much like ours was in 2001. But
9/11 was at also a wake-up call that we had to do a lot more to
protect ourselves in the skies. The alarm bells are ringing louder
than ever saying we have to do a lot more to protect us on the trains,
and if we finally listen, the people in Spain might not have died
entirely in vain."
Coordinated bombing attacks on Thursday left nearly 200 people
dead and 1,400 wounded in synchronized explosions on four commuter
trains in Madrid. It is still unclear if the armed Basque separatist
group ETA is responsible for the attacks, if al Qaeda is responsible,
or if the two groups worked in concert to pull off the killings.
Schumer revealed today that US Customs Officials have confirmed
to him that every passenger who goes through an airport terminal
now passes a radiation detector that can sense chemical, biological,
or explosive material on their bodies. Schumer called for the federal
government to accelerate the development of similar detectors for
rail and subway stations. But unlike the relatively controlled environment
of an airport terminal, approaching and departing subways and trains
create wind tunnels that wreak havoc on similar systems in stations.
Currently, individual transportation systems in major US cities
are developing their own detection devices, but Schumer said today
that a coordinated effort funded by the federal government is needed
to overcome the many technological barriers that face scientists
and engineers working on such systems.
Schumer also called on the Federal government to provide additional
resources to areas at risk of terror attacks like New York to pay
for additional police and National Guard members to patrol station
platforms and train tunnels looking for suspicious packages and
activities. Late Thursday night, US Department of Homeland Security
officials issued a bulletin advising state officials, police, transit
and rail agencies to be vigilant in light of the bombings in Spain.
There have been no indications from Washington that new funds will
be made available to pay for additional patrols.
A spokesman for Amtrak, which owns 700 miles of railroad track
in the northeastern United States as well as New York's Pennsylvania
Station, said dog and police patrols have been intensified, as were
procedures on suspicious activity like reporting of unattended baggage.
In New York, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority increased
uniformed forces and canine patrols at Grand Central and Penn stations,
as well as in other sensitive security areas like elevated rail
lines. And the MTA Chairman said that for every additional uniformed
officer, there are one or two plain-clothed officers patrolling
New York train stations. And New York City sharply increased Police
Department patrols in and around subway cars and stations.
In addition, Schumer today renewed his call for an additional $350
million from Washington to upgrade train tunnels and their escape
towers under New York City. Currently, only two of the six major
tunnels used by Amtrak, the Long Island Rail Road and NJ Transit
under New York have had significant upgrades for their ventilation
and evacuation routes since September 11, 2001. In June, Schumer
brought the nation's top federal transportation security official,
US Department of Homeland Security Undersecretary for Border and
Transportation Security Asa Hutchinson, to Penn Station to view
progress there and see what else needs to be done under New York.
They showed how the $100 million New York has already received has
bought K-9 bomb detection units, numerous devices that scan the
air for traces of explosive materials, underground lighting, security
cameras, barricades, bomb-resistant trash cans and sensors that
detect chemical, biological and radioactive agents.
But Schumer warned that much more was needed at protect the half
million people who come through Penn Station every day. Two critical
parts of the project involve improvements to underground ventilation
systems and expansion of narrow circular stairways that now provide
the only escape routes from the six rail tunnels leading to Penn
Station under the East River and Hudson River. Those projects, which
are intended to lessen the threat of passengers' being trapped in
a terrorist attack, are in planning or the early stages of construction.
And Schumer announced today that before leaving Washington on Friday,
he co-sponsored bipartisan legislation to give $515 million for
the Homeland Security Department to assess security risks to freight
and passenger rail and develop recommendations for securing them.
The Rail Transportation Security Act of 2004 would require the US
Department of Homeland Security to study the cost and feasibility
of screening all passengers, baggage and mail that travels on Amtrak
trains, and would also require the department to conduct a pilot
program to randomly screen passengers and baggage at as many as
10 rail stations.
Schumer today also assured New Yorkers that while the City and
State have moved decisively to protect subway and train passengers,
and that there is no need to panic because they are being well protected
on public transportation.
"I've said it before and I'll say it again – you have
a much greater chance of getting hurt riding in a car than during
a terror attack, and we have to continue to live our lives as normal.
I've ridden the subway my entire life, and my family and I will
continue to ride the rails. It's the best way of getting into the
city and around the city. Despite all the steps we need to take,
there's no reason to stay off the trains," Schumer said.
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