Amtrak's Flynn calls on feds to increase security for rail workers, riders

Amtrak Chief Executive Officer Bill Flynn yesterday joined two rail labor unions' call for the federal government to increase security for rail workers and passengers, including expanding the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) "No Fly List" to include passenger-rail service.

Following last week's violent attack on the U.S. Capitol, Amtrak is taking extra steps to continue ensuring the safety of employees and riders in Washington, D.C., and across the railroad's network, Flynn said in a prepared statement.

"In addition to limiting ticket sales and requiring masks to be worn at all times, we are increasing our police enforcement to ensure strong compliance, remove noncomplying customers and ban those that don't follow our policies," Flynn said. "This includes deploying additional Amtrak Police officers onboard our trains and in our stations to support our front-line staff, and utilizing additional support from TSA and partner law enforcement agencies."

As a member of the steering committee for next week's inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, the Amtrak Police Department has prepared a "robust strategy to secure our stations, trains and infrastructure," Flynn said.

But the intercity national railroad also joins labor officials' appeal to federal officials to make assaults against rail workers a federal crime, as it is for aviation workers, and for expanding the TSA's "No Fly List" to include train service, Flynn said.

Earlier this week, the presidents of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers–Transportation Division (SMART TD) and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) asked the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to address what the unions describe as security vulnerabilities for Amtrak workers and riders in and around Washington, D.C. 

The unions asked the FRA and DHS to take immediate executive action to tighten security and enhance punishments, and to increase personnel to a level that brings passenger-rail security more in line with aviation security overseen by the Federal Aviation Administration.