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**Homeland Security tightens rail security**


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Homeland Security calls for tighter rail security

 

NBC News and news services Dec 15, 2006

 

WASHINGTON - The Department of Homeland Security on Friday unveiled a plan to tighten security on the nation’s rail system. But the proposal was criticized even before it was released by Democratic lawmakers, who said it was too little, too late.

 

The Homeland Security proposal would require freight and passenger rail systems to inspect rail cars and keep them in secure areas when not in use. They also would tighten surveillance of rail cars carrying toxic substances in “high threat urban areas.”

 

"A toxic emission from an attack against a chemical facility or hazardous chemicals in transit is among the most serious risks facing America's highest threat areas," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said in announcing the proposal. "We're going to take a significant percentage of that risk off the table."

 

Democrats, set to take control of Congress next month, said they’d file bills to require tighter security for railroads. Massachusetts Rep. Ed Markey, a senior Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, said he wants extremely hazardous materials to be rerouted away from places where an attack could do the most damage.

 

A major concern is that terrorists would attack or sabotage a rail car filled with poisonous chemicals, which would spread quickly and kill thousands.

 

“We have already seen attacks on rail systems in Madrid, London and India,” Markey said. “We simply cannot rely on half-measures such as the ones that have been proposed.”

Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., said he’ll reintroduce legislation that would do more to protect passengers and cargo.

 

“The Bush Administration should have acted to improve our rail security years ago,” Lautenberg said.

 

The proposal would give the Transportation Security Administration authority to inspect railroads, rail yards and mass transit rail systems. The 708 railroads affected would have to designate a rail security coordinator to receive intelligence from the government, and would have to report significant security concerns and potential threats.

 

The proposal also would require receivers of hazardous materials to keep the rail car in a secure area until it is unloaded. Freight railroads would have to report the location of a rail car when requested by the government.

 

James Carafano, homeland security fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said Democrats are unrealistic about how much their proposals will cost. “We can bankrupt ourselves trying to childproof everything,” said Carafano. He advocates the approach taken by Homeland Security, with minimal regulation and cooperation by the private sector.

 

The eight cities that introduced legislation to require trains carrying hazardous material be rerouted around them are Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Albany and Buffalo, N.Y., Cleveland, Baltimore and St. Louis.

 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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--->> I know this is not a photo post, but I didnt think anyone would see it in the other board. sowwy

 

What do you guys think about this?

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Okay, so they get this security shit in place. How the fuck do they expect to count on a train worker to stop a terrorist orginization or some alienated shithead from not throwing a bomb in a passing coalie or gondola, or from strapping some plastique to a slow moving or a temporarily stopped train? all the terrorist asshole(s) would have to do is create a diversion like park a car on the tracks anywhere, trains gotta stop if they hit something...

 

who ever authored this bill has some good friends in the floodlight/chainlinkfence/survelance/video camera/motion detector industry.

I smell bullshit.

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oh yeah, and loaded autoracks are supposed to be kept in "secure areas" cause it's on the train company to make sure they don't get fucked up during shipping... if these are the same sort of secure areas they got in mind for everything else, nothing will change. I guess the politicans gotta act like they're doing something to keep their cushy jobs.

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A Turnpike fence to hide tanker cars from terrorist eyes

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

BY TOM FEENEY

Star-Ledger Staff

 

The state will guard against a potential terrorist attack on chemical-filled freight trains by building a 10-foot-high fence and installing sensors and closed-circuit monitors along a 2.6-mile stretch of the New Jersey Turnpike between Linden and Newark.

 

The 90-ton tanker cars that are often stopped on the rails just off the northbound side of the Turnpike represent a terror threat that homeland security officials have worried about since bombings in recent years against commuter rails in Spain, England and India.

 

The cars -- often in plain view of passing motorists -- are used to carry chlorine, ammonia and other toxic substances that could wreak havoc over a large area if the tankers were ruptured in an attack.

 

An estimated $6 million will be spent by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority to erect the so-called privacy fence to shield the tankers from public view. The authority's board voted yesterday to let executive director Michael Lapolla award the contract once bids are opened next month.

 

The state Department of Transportation will turn the barrier into a "smart fence" by designing and installing a system of closed-circuit monitors and motion sensors to be used with the privacy screen. That work will begin when construction on the privacy screen is further along, DOT spokeswoman Erin Phalon said.

 

"You can't shoot what you can't see," Richard Cañas, director of the state Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, said yesterday in describing the security benefit of the privacy screen. "The objective is to get the cars out of sight and, hopefully, out of mind."

 

The Turnpike Authority will pay for the fence. Cañas said his office has set aside $600,000 to pay for the technology that will be used with it, though he expects it will cost less.

 

The fence will be installed in three sections. A 1-mile stretch will be erected near the Bayway Refinery in Linden. Stretches of 1.1 miles and a half-mile will be erected near Port Newark/Elizabeth, across the Turnpike from Newark Liberty International Airport.

 

The fence is being built on an accelerated schedule, Lapolla said. That's why the board voted yesterday to let him award a contract after bids are opened Jan. 4 rather than waiting for the next board meeting Jan. 31.

 

Officials expect it to be in place by the spring.

 

Gov. Jon Corzine, whose concern about the safety of New Jersey's chemical facilities dates to when he served in the U.S. Senate, directed the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness to come up with a rail security strategy to protect both commuter and freight operations, Cañas said.

 

"Transit is our Achilles' heel," Cañas said. "That's what keeps me up at night."

 

The sections of rail just off the heavily traveled section of Turnpike known as "chemical alley" were quickly identified as areas where security needed to be beefed up, Cañas said.

 

Conrail and other freight operators have told state homeland security officials that tankers are not left near the Turnpike when they are filled with dangerous chemicals. Nonetheless, Cañas said, the public perception of a vulnerability was enough to justify the security measures.

 

"Everybody who drives up and down the Turnpike says, 'What the heck is going on with those tankers so close to the highway?'" he said.

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oh yeah, and loaded autoracks are supposed to be kept in "secure areas" cause it's on the train company to make sure they don't get fucked up during shipping... if these are the same sort of secure areas they got in mind for everything else, nothing will change. I guess the politicans gotta act like they're doing something to keep their cushy jobs.

 

 

Interesting point. Ive been in two places recently where cars were loaded in theautoracks. Both times I broke out on my own accord even though I could of likely gotten over unscathed.

Im curious if alot of you cats doing autoracks hit em with cars inside. Personally that shit creeps me out knowing there are hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of good in them seemingly unprotected. Not to say this cant be the case with box cars...but I prefer not to know then see them through those little holes with my own two eyes.

 

As for this law...well all I can say is 5 years after 9-11 cats are still smacking subways up in NYC.

 

If this law goes in effect just stay out of places where they park tankers. Im sure alot of the rail companies will re route them to certain places because securing alot of these yards will probably cost them a hell of alot more money then just sending them elsewhere. Fuck tanker cars any way. Who needs em.

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Everyone is hung up on TANKERS.... fuck tankers...

 

I POSTED THIS BECAUSE IT SAYS FEDERAL AGENTS WILL BE PATROLING YARDS THAT HAVE ANY DANGEROUS CHEMICAL CARS.

 

TSA AGENTS IN TRAIN YARDS

 

MONEY FOR CAMERAS AND MOTION DETECTORS

 

TRAINS MUST BE KEPT IN A SECURE YARD = NEW RAZOR WIRE FENCES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

****WE ALL KNOW NOBODY HITS TANKERS.... BUT MOST LARGE YARDS THAT HAVE TANKERS ALSO HAVE BOXCARS AND EVERYTHING ELSE...

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Everyone is hung up on TANKERS.... fuck tankers...

 

I POSTED THIS BECAUSE IT SAYS FEDERAL AGENTS WILL BE PATROLING YARDS THAT HAVE ANY DANGEROUS CHEMICAL CARS.

 

TSA AGENTS IN TRAIN YARDS

 

MONEY FOR CAMERAS AND MOTION DETECTORS

 

TRAINS MUST BE KEPT IN A SECURE YARD = NEW RAZOR WIRE FENCES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

****WE ALL KNOW NOBODY HITS TANKERS.... BUT MOST LARGE YARDS THAT HAVE TANKERS ALSO HAVE BOXCARS AND EVERYTHING ELSE...

 

 

Snips + a joint, what's the problem?

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Some amusing things regarding this topic include

 

Nuclear bombs now weigh less than 15kg or 33lb and can fit into backpacks.

The majority of the worlds items are transported in shipping containers almost all of which go unchecked into the U.S.

The northern boarder between the U.S and Canada is virtually unguarded.

If you want people to stop bombing you there is a very simple solution, dont bomb them first, ecomically exploit them, support their puppet governments, instate their puppet governments and stop giving hundreds of billions of dollars to Israel.

 

OR

 

Just attempt futile measures that will only annoy graffiti writers while pretending to make the nation secure.

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Im from london and I dont paint freights but the extra security IS comming your way sooner or later.

 

Its partly as was said above...politicians with friends in security companies who will get contracts....partly to stop graff without aknowledging that writers gain access to freight all the time....and partly because they need to be SEEN to be securing something even if we all know it is bullshit.....how will a privacy fence stop someone who really wants to get to a train??? its like they think that if people cant see the train they dont know its behind there!

 

the logic authorities use to secure places or things is so childish EXEPT when it is to REALLY protect somthing or someone...try getting into the pentagon grounds or fort knox...they will have thought of everything to protect the most important things in their world...money and national security material etc....

 

terrorists blowing up a freight train with nuclear waste in a residential area....................

........."lets put a fence up!"

 

weve had fences for over 15 years and it hasnt stopped fuk all.....its just nice to not have to go through a total mish to paint a train.....dont let the bastards grind you down.

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I'm glad this post was made into a sticky, even if it takes 5 years to come the future of graf will involve having awareness of these issues in order to get over. Does every state now have these Department of Homeland Security cops around? Where I'm from the yard is fairly close to the police station, but that is the area I see them at. I feel pretty certain they are here because of the fr8s. I've started noticing them in other areas I've been to out of state, again around fr8s. I know the FBI has come to my city to evaluate terrorist risks and this included the yard.

 

BTW, I don't think tankers are all that horrible. They're not my first choice, but I find that if you don't go over all the important info your shit will run on them. And weren't some of those Chicago heads like Denz known for hitting tankers a while ago? They came off proper.

 

Anyway all of our communications are being spied on and passed on to the govt from our cell phone and internet providers. There's probably a few govt computers somewhere that register that you used the word 'bombing' even though you were talking about painting and some asshole is scrutinizing that each time and collecting info. I wouldn't be surprised if those homeland security fucks don't study graf writers and hobos to help identify weaknesses in the rail system.

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this is all really interesting, there's no doubt this all makes the game harder, but thats part of the fun right.

 

I think it's hilarious that the NJ article says Conrail is giving advice to Homeland Security, hasnt Conrail been out of business for over a decade? it was always nice to bench from the turnpike when going into the city, so thats a blower.

 

Man I love America (even though I don't agree with ALOT of things we have done in our past) and you better believe if I ever saw some sketchy shit by the tracks like a backpack just sitting there I'm snitching with the quickness.

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I think it's hilarious that the NJ article says Conrail is giving advice to Homeland Security, hasnt Conrail been out of business for over a decade? it was always nice to bench from the turnpike when going into the city, so thats a blower.

 

Yeah but now you won't resort to rubbernecking and potentially causing an a accident in the bus & truck lane. Not that I should be one to talk when driving down the Turnpike. LOL.

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