To: Mr.Atos; Ernest_at_the_Beach; randog
I ride the Portland Light Rail, MAX, through the long tunnel every day to work. Since it is light rail, it's not as large and heavy as a commuter train that most Americans and Europeans might think of. The train lengths are always shorter than the 200 ft. Portland city block because they run above-ground through the downtown core. I'd say the maximum capacity (standing room only) of a given train is maybe 200 people (just guessing here).
So, to think of possible scary scenarios . . .
Because it runs on the street, it is close to the many people that walk through pedestrian-friendly downtown Portland. Lots of potential casualties there, especially in the more public gathering spaces. The 5:15 trains are always packed.
The tunnel would obviously give maximum constrained effect to any terror attack, but the below-ground stations aren't used very often, so I can't see it being a likely scenario.
While these scenarios do cross my mind on occasion, I don't really feel threatened by that as I ride. But I do try my best to unobtrusively keep my eyes open for suspicious behavior. The only time I ever got the willies is when some kid let of a stink bomb on the train last summer - not the stink itself, but what the stink might be.
I agree, to a certain extent, with Atos, in that Portland is a relative safe haven for terrorists for its over-the-top Liberal sensibilities. So it wouldn't be to a terrorist's advantage to act in a manner that would cause the authorities to crack down on their security. A pessimistic view, perhaps, but probably as realistic as any other.
To: dueler88
Concur, Dueler! Although thinking more about the LRT itself, I had not considered collateral impacts of coordinated devices such as those in Madrid. As you suggested, there really just isn't the density associated with the LRT to gain a positive result (from the butcher's perspective) versus the negative effect of a local attitude shift. And judging by the opinions on the bus this morning,
Mayfield has raised questions at the same time that local ELF terrorists are provoking concern.
The greater threat would be the Seattle Monorail as it passes the Needle going into EMP... many tourists, high visibility and media-appeal. Coordinated as in Madrid, one trian would be at EMP as the other is boarding at Westlake Mall in the financial district (A tremendous number of people there on weekends). Elevated as it is, the results would be unimaginable.
459 posted on
05/07/2004 12:30:28 PM PDT by
Mr.Atos
(The Left will get us killed.)
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