"Not Nearly Enough" Security for Rail Cargo
At a recent maritime and port security summit in Washington, D.C., the Port Authority of New Yourk and New Jersey stated that security needed to be improved on cargo brought into the US via railroad. The Associated Press (Nov. 16, 2004) quoted Bethann Rooney, the Port Authority's Security Manger. "There is not nearly enough attention paid to railroad cargo as there is to the inspection of containerized cargo." She focused on vehicle shipping stating, "The vehicles all have their seats taken out and are shrink-wrapped in material you cannot see through and are generally not inspected." She continued, "If you can think about how much you can put in a 40-foot container, you can put that much more in a 50-foot-long railroad car."
The Port Authority's operating expenses have increased over 500 percent since the September 11th terrorist attacks. Rooney stated that Federal funds would be needed if the industry were to come into full compliance with the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002, requiring all segments of the industry to develop security plans.