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Does Amtrak have any system of checking baggage before boardingv for added security? I'm a new traveler and would like to take all necessary precautions before making my first cross country train trip with my wife and young daughter.
TwinStarRocket Member # 2142
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There is no point to hijacking a train (its going down the track the railroad lets it go on no matter who is driving).
If they wanted to blow it up, they could do more damage in a stationery public place with more people in it. The car attendants are usually aware of who is traveling where and what luggage they are carrying. Local Police officers sometimes randomly board trains and politely question passengers and ask to searh their luggage. I have never seen Amtrak search carry-on luggage.
Checked baggage is stored in a car just behind the engine, far from passengers. Derailment/sabotage is a possibility railroads have guarded against for a century, and massive casualties even then are not likely.
In other words, as a terrorist target, trains just don't cut it. I feel less at risk of physical harm on a train than I do commuting to work.
UncleBuck44 Member # 2049
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Thats what I tell my parents when they bring up the point of hijacking a train. The only building it can crash into is A Station at the end of some tracks(Chicago-Siver Streak).
Although a person could blow up a bridge over a waterway(Sunset Derailment-Barge hit bridge though). Not entirely impossible.
Charles Reuben Member # 2263
posted Superdad, I think Theodore's comments might have gotten you some replies that were not necessarily what you had in mind.
What exactly do you mean by "checking baggage?" Do you mean checking the bags to be placed in the baggage car? Or do you mean physically opening the bags to inspect their contents.
If you mean opening your bags, that probably will not happen unless you are crossing into Canada. If you are crossing that border, there is an excellent chance that they will make you open your bags. Not only that they will ask you all sorts of questions, intent on tripping you up and making you sweat.
When I travel, I generally use heavy-duty plastic cable ties to secure the zippers on my luggage. And I also carry a small pair of wire cutters to break the cable ties in case anybody wants to inspect my luggage. And, of course, I carry extra cable ties to resecure my luggage.
I always carry my passport with me when I travel, even in the US: It is the ultimate form of identification, without a doubt.
If you meant you were going to check your luggage in the baggage car, I would discourage you from doing so. I used to do that all the time until my last trip when my main bag was mysteriously were taken off in Kansas City instead of Albuquerque. I got the bag back the next day, but it's loss caused me a bit of stress.
The fact of the matter is that the baggage car is an old, beat up car with no shelves and they just seem to throw the bags in there any which way. When I saw, with my own eyes, what was going on in the baggage car, I said "no more." Now I pack much lighter and carry everything on board the train.
Nobody has ever disturbed my luggage aboard the train. I can see where somebody might accidentally take somebody else's luggage, thinking it was there own, but if you tie a nice big red Christmas ribbon on a handle and use a big identification tag, the possibility of somebody taking your stuff is greatly minimized.
Trains are great. All those people, locked up together for hours and hours and hours. Before you know it you will have made lots of friends. Just use a bit of common sense and you will be hooked to train travel forever.
rmiller Member # 341
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quote:Originally posted by Chucky:
Nobody has ever disturbed my luggage aboard the train. I can see where somebody might accidentally take somebody else's luggage, thinking it was there own, but if you tie a nice big red Christmas ribbon on a handle and use a big identification tag, the possibility of somebody taking your stuff is greatly minimized.
This is a VERY good tip. On several recent trips, someone in a rush to leave the train has grabbed the wrong bag...many look very much alike these days. Find a way to mark or tag yours in a unique way.
amtrakadirondack Member # 2421
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quote:Although a person could blow up a bridge over a waterway(Sunset Derailment-Barge hit bridge though). Not entirely impossible.[/B]
Well, blowing up a bridge would set off the waning systems in the tracks, warning the train, unless the bridge blew up while the train was on it, but I doubt that will happen, but the Sunset Limited derailment outside Mobile, AL, the tracks did not break, not warning the train, and that incident was not intentional. But the sabotage of the Sunset Limited in Hyder, AZ was on old track, and the suspects were able to remove major components in the rails.
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As I understand it, the AZ derailment was not detected by rail break because the two rail ends were bonded by another cable before the ends were moved away from each other. It doesn't have to be old track, anybody with the knowledge could do it to any track circuit, as long as it isn't a jointless track circuit.
Geoff M.
maxmarch Member # 2495
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Hijacks?, Bombs, etc?
chill out, pack what you need and enjoy the scenery.
My 4 kids, wife and I just finished an 8,000 mile trip around the U.S. Enjoyed every bit of it and never felt threatened.
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