Railroads

Lawmakers called Wednesday for increased rail security in the wake of threats from slain terrorist Osama bin Laden, and Transportation Security Administration officials detailed their efforts to protect transit passengers in the U.S.

But each agreed it was unlikely railways would ever be as secure as airports.

“We must continue to work with travelers to make them full partners in securing our rail and transit systems,” Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said in a hearing titled "See Something, Say Something, Do Something: Next Steps for Securing Rail and Transit." 

“Speed, reliability, and convenience are hallmarks of mass transit," Lieberman continued. "But with so many passengers at so many stations, along so many routes, these systems are very difficult to secure. It is simply not possible to install permanent aviation-level security checkpoints without impeding the flow of traffic. But there is much more TSA can and should do and more that state and local governments and transit agencies can and should do.”

Stepping up from criticizing the Republican plan to privatize Amtrak rail service as being risky, a key House Democrat said Wednesday that the plan was unconstitutional.

“The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service has determined that this proposal is unconstitutional because it violates the Appointments Clause of the Constitution," Rep. Nick Rahall, the ranking Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said during a hearing on the plan Wednesday. 

"It is also likely that the proposal violates the Takings Clause because it takes Amtrak’s private property without just compensation,” Rahall (D-W.Va.) continued. “As a for-profit corporation, I believe Amtrak’s standing is little different than that of any other for-profit corporation in America.”

With lawmakers expected to hold a hearing Wednesday on House Republicans' plan to privatize Amtrak, the national passenger rail service said again that it is staunchly opposed to the plan.

In a letter to House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.), who authored the plan, Amtrak President Joseph Boardman said, "[A]s currently written, this bill would likely mean the end of Amtrak and the national passenger rail system that Congress authorized nearly 40 years ago.

"This legislation proposes a complex and risky undertaking in the name of advancing improved high-speed rail service within the Northeast Corridor (NEC) and introducing private-sector competition for operation of current Amtrak short- and long-distance routes," Boardman wrote to Mica.

A newspaper in the rail-heavy northeast said Tuesday that Rep. John Mica's plan to privatize Amtrak service in the area is too risky to pursue.

The Philadelphia Inquirer said in an editorial that the plan is "not ready to leave the station."

"While Amtrak has had internal operational shortcomings, its major problems historically have stemmed from a Congress that shortchanged its funding amid periodic partisan and regional political battles," the paper said. "Members of Congress from areas of the nation little-served by the railroad were rarely as interested in providing adequate funds as lawmakers from urban regions where transit represents a lifeline."

Opponents of the NLRB's complaint against Boeing have criticized Obama's nomination of John Bryson to be Commerce secretary

The chairman of the Senate Surface Transportation Subcommittee will oppose the GOP's plan to privatize Amtrak in the Northeast. 

Rep. John Mica's proposal to privatize passenger rail service in the northeast would end Amtrak as it currently exists, the CEO of the federally-subsidized railway said Wednesday afternoon.

Mica (R-Fla.) announced the details of his proposal to allow private companies to compete for bids to provide high-speed rail service in the northeast corridor, which is currently operated solely by Amtrak. Mica said private companies could provide the service faster and more cheaply than the national passenger rail service could.

But Amtrak CEO Joseph Boardman disagreed.

"This is broader than the northeast at this point," Boardman said on a conference call with reporters. "This is the Privatize Passenger Rail for America Act. The overall impact is this takes Amtrak apart, from an infrastructure standpoint, and replaces it with a government entity."

GOP says private companies could provide services faster and for less money than Amtrak.

Your morning transportation speed-read:

An Ohio couple say they missed their honeymoon flight because they were held by the Transportation Security Administration over contact solution.

A Newark, N.J., flight was delayed when a flight attendant found graffiti in the bathroom of the plane.

Meet Rahm Emanuel's choice to lead the Chicago Department of Transportation.

High-speed rail is all the rage now, but some Amtrak trains in Detroit are going to be moving more slowly.

Your morning transportation speed-read:

A Louisiana airport is displaying posters for movies that have been filmed in the town.

A man was removed from a flight for cursing on a plane.

A disabled man was subjected to a Transportation Security Administration pat-down.

Amtrak has a new operations chief.