WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a full committee hearing today on emerging threats to rail security.

Witness List: 

The Honorable John S. Pistole, Administrator, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) 

Mr. Stephen M. Lord, Director of Homeland Security and Justice Issues, U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) 

Mr. John J. O’Connor, Vice President & Chief of Police, Amtrak Police Department

Key Quotations from Today’s Hearing:

“Given the rail networks’ open nature, numerous access points and the high volume of people and goods that move through them—annual ridership on the New York Subway System alone is over 1.5 billion—it is simply impossible to lock down the entire system. We cannot scan every person who enters a train. We cannot check every single bag. To do so would bring our rail system to a grinding halt. But we must be smart on this issue. We need to develop technologies and strategies to keep our rail system safe without impeding the free flow of commerce and people. I am concerned that, to date, the TSA has spent comparatively little on surface transportation security.”

Chairman John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV

"According to reports, documents recovered from bin Laden’s compound show he wanted to mark the 10th anniversary of 9/11 by attacking trains in our country. This discovery sends chills down our spines, but it shouldn’t surprise us. Terrorists have been focused on trains for years. We must recognize that our surface transportation network is enormous and heavily traveled, and is therefore an attractive target. Americans take more trips on trains and other public transportation than they do on commercial airplanes, yet 98 percent of TSA’s budget is dedicated to aviation security and less than two percent goes to rail security. Make no mistake: the threat to America’s rail network is real, and we must do much more to keep it secure."

Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, Chairman, U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security 

“Due to the large populations and substantial infrastructure served by mass transit and national railroad systems, these networks remain a target for terrorist groups. Moreover, an open architecture connecting millions of passengers in major metropolitan areas creates inherent potential security vulnerabilities. TSA thus employs advanced risk-based, intelligence-driven techniques to prevent terrorist attacks and to reduce the vulnerability of the nation’s transportation systems to terrorism.”

The Honorable John S. Pistole, Administrator, Transportation Security Administration

“Opportunities exist to streamline security information for transit agencies, and preliminary results of ongoing work indicate that some freight rail agencies do not receive actionable information from TSA. In September 2010, GAO recommended that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) assess opportunities to streamline information-sharing mechanisms to reduce overlap. DHS concurred, and in response it and the rail industry have developed a streamlined product. However, preliminary observations from GAO’s ongoing work indicate that some rail stakeholders would prefer to receive actionable security information and analysis from TSA that could allow them to adjust to potential terrorist threats.”

Mr. Stephen M. Lord, Director of Homeland Security and Justice Issues, U.S. Government Accountability Office

“The recent events after the death of bin Laden serve as a stark reminder that these threats continue to be viable and that a new twist was added—that terrorists are considering derailing trains. This is of particular concern to Amtrak who operates high speed rail trains where catastrophic losses could occur. This begs the question—are we doing enough to detect and deter terrorist acts on surface transportation, and can we do more to try to prevent a terrorist rail tragedy from happening?”

Mr. John J. O’Connor, Vice President & Chief of Police, Amtrak Police Department 

###