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TSA screening in trains make much less sense than in planes. First, planes have a history of hijackings -- trains much less so. Second, TSA got implemented on
by metacritic12 5y ago
TSA screening in trains make much less sense than in planes. First, planes have a history of hijackings -- trains much less so. Second, TSA got implemented on planes after a very salient failure: 9/11. What's the equivalent for trains? Finally, whatever threat vector could compromise a train could do so in so many different situations: buses, commuter rail, large crowds, etc. Is TSA going to cover those next?
It's so ridiculous that I can't help but think cynically of it: either TSA is doing the bureaucratic thing of expanding as much as it can, or some really good airplane lobbyist finally got their payday.
- np_tedious 5y agoThe idea of a train hijacking kinda made me chuckle. Some angry guy demanding the train go somewhere its tracks do not run
- vgeek 5y agohttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113845/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113845/ comes to mind here.
- xdrosenheim 5y agoEven if the tracks go there, surely there would be systems in place to set up a red light that automatically stops the train.
- KptMarchewa 5y agoPolish railways have a auto-stop system that works by radio.
- arcticfox 5y agoAli G (Sacha Baron Cohen) posed this hypothetical to a homeland security official. "What if they were laying the tracks during the night - and, God forbid, ran a train into the White House?" https://youtu.be/fNfSQA6ZRsc https://youtu.be/fNfSQA6ZRsc The whole interview is genius.
- heavyset_go 5y agoThis is hilarious, I completely forgot about this episode.
- LeoPanthera 5y agoThere's a whole movie about this. It was remade at least twice, too. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Taking_of_Pelham_One_Two_Three_(1974_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Taking_of_Pelham_One_Two_T...
- dtgriscom 5y agoWho remembers the relevant Monty Python sketch? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MYxAlA5wuk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MYxAlA5wuk
- eli 5y agoTSA in fact would love to expand to cover all mass transit. They’ve done pilots of screening greyhound bus passengers
- jacquesm 5y agoNL had a train hijacking long ago: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1977_Dutch_train_hijacking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1977_Dutch_train_hijacking There was an attack on the Thalys not all that long ago: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Thalys_train_attack https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Thalys_train_attack and another attempted attack https://www.voanews.com/a/europe_americans-who-foiled-attempted-attack-train-are-back-paris-testify/6198666.html https://www.voanews.com/a/europe_americans-who-foiled-attemp... So while there isn't nearly as much history for train hijackings they did happen, and I'm sure there will be more in the future. But that doesn't justify the kind of security theater that the TSA goes in for.
- Schroedingersat 5y agoElectrify the rail. Then just turn the train off if it's hijacked
- jacquesm 5y agoYes, we have that. But that didn't solve much, it was the passengers that were threatened/shot/killed.
- hypersoar 5y ago> TSA screening in trains make much less sense than in planes. First, planes have a history of hijackings Not to mention that the most important measures protecting against this have nothing to do with the TSA. 9/11 Changed completely the way passengers and crew see hijacking. It used to be that hijackers had demands, not suicide missions. Anyone trying to do it now will face a planeful of people fighting them like their lives depend on it, not to mention a locked, reinforced cockpit door. Attacks on planes are stopped either before they ever make it the airport, as with the plot that made them ban liquids, or after they're in the air, as with the undewear- and shoe-bombers.
- kelnos 5y agoTo add to that, I expect hijacking a plane means the very real risk of a military jet being sent to shoot the plane down, especially if it's flying toward populated areas.
- paranoidrobot 5y agoFrom a future Black Mirror episode: "Welcome to Seaview Estates, a Safer Neighborhood(tm) by Amazon & in cooperation with the TSA. We are proud of our award winning public transit connections. Our security officers will conduct quick, minimally invasive searches of all residents, visitors, pets and vehicles when leaving your house, and upon returning to a Safer Neighborhood. Please note that delays should be expected when entering a Safer Neighborhood, so you should arrive early to clear our screening process. All liquids, gels and powders should be in transparent containers of no more than 2 ounces, unless from a Safer Neighborhood certified vendor. Did you know that all products purchased through Amazon Prime are pre-certified?"