Amtrak Threat Stops Trains

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

November 28, 2001 / 7:29 AM EST / CBS

Four Amtrak trains were stopped and searched Tuesday night because of what officials said was a non-specific threat.

The caller to the reservation center reportedly mentioned the Southwest Chief, a train that runs between Chicago and Los Angeles.

Trains were halted last night near Los Angeles; Gallup, New Mexico; La Junta, Colorado; and Bosworth, Missouri.

Bomb sniffing dogs were brought in and all the trains were allowed to continue on their journeys. The 144 people on the Bosworth train were evacuated and taken to a school before resuming their trip an hour and a-half later.

"We have been extra cautious since the events of Sept. 11," Amtrak spokeswoman Karen Dunn in Washington said. "We have received threats in the last couple of months and we have taken every threat seriously, but they have all turned out to be just that, threats."

Kathleen Cantillon, spokeswoman for the Amtrak region that includes La Junta, said the train stopped there was swept by police but the 200 passengers onboard were not evacuated. The train then went on its way.

"The threat was credible enough for trains to be searched," Cantillon said. "We err on the side of caution."