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As part of "Rail Security Day" — organized by House Democrats to increase railroad security awareness — several congressmen and rail industry officials are holding rallies today in various parts of the nation.

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen/Teamsters Rail Conference officials, and Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) are conducting rallies at Grand Central Station in New York City and an Amtrak station in Akron, Ohio, respectively, to call on the Bush Administration to improve the security of hazardous materials shipped by rail.

"While more attention has been paid to passenger train security in the United States after the Madrid bombings, freight-rail security has been ignored," said International Brotherhood of Teamsters General President James Hoffa in a prepared statement. "The contrast between funding levels for security is startling: Since Sept. 11, 2001, the airline industry has been the beneficiary of nearly $3 billion in Homeland Security Department funds while the rail industry has received less than $100 million."