Madrid attacks refocus attention on passenger rail system’s vulnerability, lack of DHS funding. In the aftermath of the March 11 terrorist attacks that killed 201 train passengers in Madrid, some U.S. lawmakers and IT professionals are raising questions about the lack of security systems in place throughout the U.S. commuter rail system, particularly the federally subsidized Amtrak network. In a letter sent to Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge on March 12, Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) and Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.) demanded an explanation for the imbalance between the billions of dollars in Department of Homeland Security funding earmarked for new security technologies at air and sea ports and the meager $115 million made available to protect railroads. “We have continued to shortchange security for our nation’s rail system,” Snowe and Castle wrote in their letter. “More must be done to introduce improved security procedures and technologies to our rail system so we can be better protected.” Full Story
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