Posted on 05/27/2010 3:59:01 PM PDT by KevinDavis
CHICAGO -- Officials say passengers boarding Amtrak trains at Chicago's Union Station will now face random screening of their carry-on bags.
Officials say the new policy goes into effect Thursday.
Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said Wednesday the new security measure, which will involve Amtrak police swabbing carry-on items to detect explosives, is not in response to any new threat. Magliari said it represents an expansion of precautions that have been implemented on Amtrak lines in other parts of the nation.
He said the screenings will be conducted periodically, and passengers will be randomly selected.
If passengers decline to participate in the screening, they will not be allowed to ride the train.
B Magliari said such passengers will be accompanied to the ticket office for a refund.
Amtrak already conducts random screening of checked baggage.
Nobody screens me when I walk out to the truck.
Yeah, I was hoping AMTRAK would be TSA-free when I travel in July. Oh well. But since it’s random screening, maybe I’ll be lucky.
This will make a big difference since NOBODY knows the route that the train will take.
What kind of explosives were you planning to smuggle on board?
I can't speak for Chicago, but in LAX, LASD does the screening, not Bush's TSA goons.
Willie Green is deeply saddened...
Let me know when Amtrak discards its monopoly mindset and begins to show movies / provide wifi / etc. on its trains.
In LAX, the screening is extremely random --say, once every couple of months.
In Chicago, this might be done whenever the CPD needs beer and hooker money, like every Friday night.
I used to be a frequent Amtrak rider and I never had any problem bringing a firearm onto the train in my carry on. Looks like I won’t be riding them again.
Huh? This has been going on for awhile at the Los Angels terminal, occasionally at the Denver terminal, well for cross country trips anyway. They are WAY more efficient than traveling by plane.
There have been at least four dog teams at 30th st in philly the last few times I’ve been there. And many TSA, Philly police, and Amtrak police, and a dude in a blue turban — acting very suspicious, and yet clearly associating with the security. Sometimes the dogs are taken along for the ride. I’m guessing it is because the VP is riding Amtrak. They’ve been set up for screening for a while at 30th st., but I haven’t seen them actually screen.
Oh, by the way, philadelphia sucks.
I beg to differ.. With a plane I get to my destination in a matter of hours.. With a train I get to my destination in a matter of days.. Big difference...
Every time I have traveled long distance there are movies in the evening. No wi-fi for passengers at least.
Baggage screening for AMTRAK has been in the works since 2002 if not earlier.
“If passengers decline to participate in the screening, they will not be allowed to ride the train.
B Magliari said such passengers will be accompanied to the ticket office for a refund.
Amtrak already conducts random screening of checked baggage.”
Oh, I get it - if Amos (common Amish first name) tries to bring a pipe bomb on the train to Boston, but gets stopped for a search - all he has to do is refuse and then get his refund. He can bring home the bomb and try again next week.
Amtrak Police, not TSA. Nothing that they haven’t done previously.
How about air conditioning during the summer? If they can't do that, at least they should install windows that can be opened.
If they keep up that imitation of TSA’s overlording the mere passengers that pay their income, I will soon be reduced to two modes of transportation, my car and the Hound. And I’m not sure about the latter.
The OP refuses to be treated as a dangerous animal when traveling.
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