America Rides To Work Cautiously
A Day After London Blasts, Security Is Evident In U.S. Mass Transit
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Play CBS Video Video Heightened Security In U.S. In the wake of the London attack, American cities are on full alert. But officials concede there's no sure-fire way to protect the 29 million riders who use mass transit daily, Bob Orr reports.
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Video London Looks For Answers Trains were up and running again as London tried to go back to normal. But investigators still face the daunting task of searching for clues -- and casualties, John Roberts reports.
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Video Who's Behind The Attack? Officials are sifting through disparate evidence that suggests a variety of possible terror groups. The question is whether the attackers are foreign or home-grown, Mark Phillips reports.
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Port Authority police officers are seen reflected in a World Trade Center sign as they stand guard outside the WTC train station (AP)
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A transit cop and his dog patrol a BART train station in San Francisco (AP)
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A Washington transit police officer patrols a station with a machine gun on his hip (AP)
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"It's frightening," said Walter Holmes, who saw more police than usual at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority plaza at Philadelphia City Hall. "You never know what to expect."
Transit authorities nationwide responded to the code orange according to security plans that long had been in place.
The plans, required by the federal government, differed from city to city but generally specified additional police patrols, bomb-sniffing dogs and frequent reminders to passengers to be watchful for unattended packages.
Though most federal money and attention has been focused on protecting airliners from terrorists, U.S. officials always have recognized the vulnerability of trains.
"Obviously, we've been aware since Madrid last year that this kind of an attack is a possibility and it's the kind of thing that terrorists think about. But in terms of any specific plan, we don't have any indication of that," said Chertoff.
There isn't a high-tech solution on the horizon to change that. The reason is simply that transit systems exist to move large numbers of people quickly over a large metropolitan area. Anything that slows the process, such as security checks, would disrupt the system.
The Homeland Security Department has looked toward technology to improve transit security but has instituted nothing since testing a system last year.
Following the March 11, 2004, train bombing in Madrid that killed 191 people, the Transportation Security Administration tested a high-tech security system at a suburban Maryland commuter train stop. Walkthrough portals "sniffed" the air around passengers to check for explosives residue.
The agency said the tests went well but none of the machines has been installed at train stops. They are being used at some airports.
Homeland Security Department spokesman Russ Knocke said the pilot project showed such technology could be used if a specific threat were directed at a specific transit system.
The TSA also experimentally screened baggage checked on long-distance Amtrak trains leaving Washington's Union Station. Amtrak is the United States' semipublic passenger train system. In another test, the TSA screened passengers as they boarded trains.
Amtrak spokeswoman Marcy Golgoski said TSA has no programs to screen people or bags at passenger railroad stations.
©MMV CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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