Senator Charles Schumer is calling for a close in the safety gap when it comes to train and transit employees to ensure safe holiday travels.
Schumer revealed Sunday that rail and mass transit employees are not cross-checked with the federal terror watch list. With many Americans relying on train travel with companies such as Amtrak, Schumer is concerned.
Amtrak is considered the only high-speed inter-city passenger railroad provider in the U.S. with more than 300 trains operating each day. Amtrak employees go in and out of train stations every day, including big stations like Penn Station, which saw one million travelers in Fiscal year 2015. With a total of 31 million passengers using Amtrak in that same time period, Schumer says train and transit employees need to be vetted more thoroughly.
"With terror threats from ISIS sympathizers and lone wolves ever possible, it is just not acceptable that every single front line transit employee is not checked against the federal terror watch list like airlines do," said Schumer. "Railing for rail security is a no-brainer and we simply cannot leave our transportation arteries vulnerable to a possible terror threat. I'm urging the feds to immediately finalize this commonsense employee background check so that our nation's railways are kept safe."
According to Schumer, the 9/11 Commission Report urged the close of this loophole under Passenger Rail Requirements, but there was never a follow through. It first recommended that all safety sensitive transit employees be cross-checked against the federal terror watch list.
Schumer asked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) to immediately fix this rule, aligning rail and transit employees, especially those of the frontline, with the same standards as airline employees.
The DHS and TSA have a pending requirement that would close this safety gap, but it has not been finalized.
According to the DHS Office of the Inspector General, TSA has delayed executing the rail security requirements because of the complex federal rulemaking process.
Schumer's urgency in this matter stems from recent terror attacks, continued threats in New York City and the general vulnerabilities that come with rail service and security. Schumera also asks for a fair and reasonable review process, in case an employee is inadvertently placed on the watch list.
