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Terrorist-detonated bombs that blew apart 10 commuter trains in Madrid, Spain, during morning rush hour March 11 should serve as a wake-up call to improve rail security in the United States, Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Joe Biden (D-Del.) believe. On March 12, the senators introduced legislation designed to better protect rail passengers from terrorist threats.

The Rail Transportation Security Act (S. 2216) would require the Department of Homeland Security to conduct a risk assessment of rail security threats and devise steps railroads can take to protect infrastructure, facilities, terminals, tunnels and bridges. The bill authorizes $515 million in fiscal-year 2005 to address rail security and award grants to passenger and freight roads to implement the department’s recommendations. The legislation builds on previous bills Carper and Biden have introduced since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to address passenger and freight rail security, according to a prepared statement.

S. 2216 also would require Homeland Security to study the cost and feasibility of screening passengers, baggage and cargo on all Amtrak trains, and conduct a pilot program of random security screening of passengers and baggage at five of the 10 busiest Amtrak-served rail stations. A separate study would review efforts other countries’ efforts to protect their rail systems from security threats.

The bill includes funds to upgrade aging ventilation, fire and electrical safety technology, and other emergency systems at various Amtrak tunnels, including $667 million for six New York tunnels built in 1910; $57 million for the Baltimore and Potomac tunnel, built in 1872; and $40 million for the Washington, D.C., Union Station tunnels under the Supreme Court, and House and Senate office buildings, built in 1904

The Bush Administration did not include rail security enhancement funds in the FY2005 budget.