Washington Wire: Amtrak To Deploy Airport-Like Security

Passengers on Amtrak, the national rail passenger line and a popular mode for business travelers in the Northeast, now face security similar to that encountered at airports, officials said, as Amtrak will begin randomly searching passengers' bags and deploy armed guards with bomb-sniffing dogs on trains and platforms. The announcement wasn't made in response to a specific terrorism threat, it said. Amtrak carries about 25 million passengers annually on its rail network, an average of 67,000 per day.

Bush Again Takes Aim At Amtrak Subsidy
President George W. Bush's final budget proposal, made last month, renews his request to slash Amtrak's federal subsidy by 38 percent to $800 million. Similar efforts in the past have died in Congress. Reducing the subsidy, which amounts to 40 percent of the national passenger railroad's budget, is "significant but necessary,'' the White House said in its budget request to Congress. The administration said Amtrak "continues to hemorrhage taxpayer funds." Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.), chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Subcommittee said the president's budget would "in effect shut down the national passenger railroad system." Analysts predicted Congress again would reject the cuts. The Bush budget would reduce funding for the Federal Aviation Administration by 2 percent to $14.6 billion, seeks $688 million for capital improvements to the air traffic control system, up from a request of $175 million last year and increases the airline security fee by up to $1 per one-way trip.

Runway Incursions May Reach Record, Feds Say
Federal authorities warned that serious near-collisions on airport runways due to incursions may reach a six-year high. There were 10 serious incidents from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, Transportation Department Inspector General Calvin Scovel III told a congressional panel Feb. 13. That compares to two in the same period last year. There were 24 serious incidents in all of fiscal 2007, a record low, and 371 incidents overall. Congressional interest in curtailing runway incursions have stepped up since House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.) last year ordered a Government Accountability Office study that concluded that the Federal Aviation Administration wasn't doing enough to prevent them. Hank Krakowski, COO of FAA's Air Traffic Organization, responded with testimony to the House subcommittee on aviation that reducing the risk of runway incursions is one of FAA's top priorities. He told the committee that the number of serious runway incursions has dropped by more than 55 percent since fiscal year 2001. Among other things, FAA is testing a light system that warns pilots when runways are occupied, Krakowski said.