Rhino
07-11-2006, 08:17 AM
Some Train Workers Fret Over Lax Security At Nation's Rail Yards
Monday, July 10, 2006
SAN FRANCICSO — Security gaps around America's freight trains are putting citizens at risk, according to some railway conductors and engineers.
"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out, all they'd have to do is take a pot-shot at a chlorine tanker passing by and you could kill hundreds of thousands of people in one shot," said Tim Smith, chairman of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen.
Every day, trains haul explosives, atomic waste and toxic chemicals like chlorine over 140,000 miles of track, often right through the middle of cities and towns. By one estimate, an explosion of a tanker filled with this substance could kill 100,000 people within 30 minutes.
Outside of Sacramento, at the Roseville Yard — the largest rail yard west of the Mississippi River — rail cars sit idle for hours at a time. The only apparent security at this location is a few "No Trespassing" signs.
But railroad officials insist the rails and the cargo are carefully monitored and guarded........http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,202859,00.html
Monday, July 10, 2006
SAN FRANCICSO — Security gaps around America's freight trains are putting citizens at risk, according to some railway conductors and engineers.
"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out, all they'd have to do is take a pot-shot at a chlorine tanker passing by and you could kill hundreds of thousands of people in one shot," said Tim Smith, chairman of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen.
Every day, trains haul explosives, atomic waste and toxic chemicals like chlorine over 140,000 miles of track, often right through the middle of cities and towns. By one estimate, an explosion of a tanker filled with this substance could kill 100,000 people within 30 minutes.
Outside of Sacramento, at the Roseville Yard — the largest rail yard west of the Mississippi River — rail cars sit idle for hours at a time. The only apparent security at this location is a few "No Trespassing" signs.
But railroad officials insist the rails and the cargo are carefully monitored and guarded........http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,202859,00.html