ENFORCEMENT DEPLOY ACROSS NORTHEAST CORRIDOR RAIL STATIONS
Operation ALERTS underway today from Virginia to Vermont
WASHINGTON – During today’s morning and evening commutes, Amtrak Police, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) personnel and law enforcement officers from more than 100 federal, state, local, rail and transit police agencies are being deployed at approximately 150 passenger rail stations throughout the Northeast Corridor region in an exercise of expanded counterterrorism and incident response capabilities.
The multi-force security surge across 13 states and Washington, D.C., is NOT in response to any particular threat or incident. Rather, today’s deployment is part of Operation ALERTS (Allied Law Enforcement for Rail and Transit Security), a coordinated effort involving activities such as heightened station patrols, increased security presence onboard trains, explosives detection canine sweeps, and random passenger bag inspections at unannounced locations.
“Operation ALERTS will enhance the readiness and communication capabilities of hundreds of police and security officials stationed in some of the heaviest rail passenger areas along the Northeast Corridor, ” said Amtrak Police Chief John O’Connor. “Our law enforcement partners in this deployment represent first responder agencies that will protect and defend the railways during any type of emergency or potential threat.”
Over the past few years, terrorist attacks, attempts and plots around the globe have specifically targeted rail and mass transit. The security implications of this activity in the United States, particularly in the region with the greatest concentration of public transportation users, have spurred the formation of a strong coalition of transportation and law enforcement agencies in the Northeast Corridor area. Approximately 750,000 rail passengers ride Amtrak trains along the Northeast Corridor and other commuter rail systems integrated with the Corridor each day.
“Regional partnerships, like those so well exhibited in the Northeast Corridor today, are critical to ensuring the safety of the traveling public in our nation’s rail and transit systems,” said John Sammon, TSA assistant administrator, Transportation Sector Network Management (TSNM). “The commitment of State and local departments has been particularly impressive, producing a unified effort that has expanded the range of resources for the random and unpredictable security activities that are essential to deterrence. We look forward to conducting more of these operations in the future, varying in size, timing, and location.”
Today’s operation illustrates the growing cooperation among police departments in States, cities, and towns throughout the northeast with their partners in Amtrak, commuter rail and mass transit systems, and TSA. The deployed police officers will provide a visible security presence, on alert for and ready to investigate suspicious activities and items. Bolstering these efforts are TSA’s Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response Teams, or VIPR Teams, operating at and around multiple stations in random, unannounced deployments. These teams bring to bear specialized capabilities in monitoring for surveillance, detecting suspicious behaviors, and supporting random security inspections with mobile explosives detection equipment. The main focus of VIPR operations is to deploy TSA resources to augment local security and law enforcement capabilities and foster deterrence through coordinated actions with local transportation entities and law enforcement.
Amtrak and TSA plan to conduct similar joint operations regionally along the Northeast Corridor area in the future, as well as in other parts of our nation’s rail system as part of an enhanced security strategy. Today’s deployments will be reviewed to identify lessons learned as part of a continuous improvement approach, including evaluation of requirements and tactics for effective response to any future threats or incidents within the railway system. The operation also provides an important model for developing regional “templates” that will facilitate smaller-scale, but more frequent, joint rail security operations.
Operation ALERTS is underway today at rail stations in 13 states— Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia— as well as Washington, D.C.
Posts: 2236 | From: Evanston, Ill. and Ontonagon, Mich. | Registered: Feb 2007
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Double-shifts, a few German Shepards, we're all good to go!
-------------------- David Pressley
Advocating for passenger trains since 1973!
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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On this point, I noted "Blitzie', a sworn peace officer BTW, earning her Purina last March at Lorton shortly before Auto Train's departure. In any other walk of life, hopefully this beautiful Black Labrador would have wanted a big hug from me.
Security Theatre produced and directed by the Amtrak PD.
Posts: 9976 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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There seemed to be very little news coverage of the event. I wonder if things were much less visible than in the past, and hence people were not inconvenienced or discombobulated.
GBN, I am delighted to learn that you belong to the Labbish persuasion, as I do. (Mine is yellow, 84 pounds, and loving to a fault.)
Posts: 2236 | From: Evanston, Ill. and Ontonagon, Mich. | Registered: Feb 2007
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There has been news coverge here for the last few days. This has included video of the dogs inside the amtrak cars, passenger comment and scenes all over union station. Maybe we have had so much more than you, Henry, because we are affected by all this and the rest of the country no much at all.
Posts: 1577 | From: virginia | Registered: Jun 2005
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Two days ago on the bridge in Santa Ana the Sheriffs were checking luggage. You had the option not to be checked but they wouldn't let you go down to the platform. Passengers who didn't just walked down to the Santa Ana Blvd grade crossing and got to the platform that way.
Chris
Posts: 711 | From: Santa Ana | Registered: May 2003
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GBN and Henry: I love labs too, but I haven't been very lucky with them. My black lab/viszla, Sasha, died from blood poisoning (she had a flea allergy), and I had to put down my golden lab, Ginger, when she contracted bone cancer.
I'm stuck now with my wife's dogs, a noisy Yorkie (Peanuts) and an anti-social mutt (ironically, Buddy).
Sticking to cats now.
Posts: 1530 | From: Ocala, FL | Registered: Dec 2006
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Gil -- was that the right video link you posted? When I clicked on it, I got the story from "Tom Brokaw on Highway 50" about a veteran in St. Louis who got a chocolate labrador retriever as a service dog -- ??????? Nothing to do with AMTRAK security or Operation ALERTS, or am I missing something?
Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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Too many times, "security" really is Kabuki Theater. Witness whoever wrote about what happened at Santa Ana.
Posts: 1404 | Registered: Oct 2001
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