WASHINGTON, DC: Today Representative Edward Markey (D-MA), a senior member of the Select Committee on Homeland Security joined Representative Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Representative Stephen Lynch (D-MA), John Murphy, Director of the Teamsters Rail Conference and Rick Inclima,Director of Safety of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Division to discuss the serious concerns raised by a Teamsters Rail conference report on rail security released today. The report, "High Alert: Workers Warn of Security Gaps on Nation’s Railways," compiled by rail workers across the country, details shocking deficiencies in the security of U.S. railways.

"When I see reports like this, I’m reminded of the National Weather Service warning that Katrina was coming and that everyone needed to be ready, only to have FEMA fail to heed the warnings. After the terrorist attacks in Madrid and London, I thought that the passenger rail security warnings would be heeded. They have not been heeded, either. It is my hope that this report, which uses on-the-ground rail employee observations of the state of security to paint a grim picture of just how vulnerable we are, will finally wake this Administration up,” said Rep. Markey, author of legislation to reduce the threat of hazardous material shipments on railways across the country.

The Teamsters report, which surveyed rail workers in 46 states, revealed that workers are not being properly trained, trespassers are gaining easy access to rail yards, rail cars and equipment and security is mediocre or in many places missing entirely. “The report released today reveals that 63% of those surveyed indicated that their train or equipment was
delayed or left unattended for an extended period of time that day, and of those, 55% indicated that there were hazardous materials aboard that train. Despite these glaring deficiencies, there has been no national planning to better secure the dangerous shipments that could be used as weapons of mass destruction against us. How many warnings does the Bush Administration need in order to step up to the plate to protect the millions of Americans who travel every day on the railways?” said Rep. Markey.

According to the report:

· 42% of the rail workers report no increase in the frequency of inspections at critical infrastructure points (i.e. tracks, bridges, tunnels, diamonds) designed to detect and prevent
acts of terrorist

· 83% of the rail workers have not received any, or additional, training related to terrorism prevention and response in the past 12 months.

· 24% of workers surveyed noted trespassers in rail yards and around rail tracks.

“There were no shipments of extremely hazardous materials made in the few days following September 11. There weren’t any such shipments made through DC during the State of the Union. There aren’t any shipments during special events such as the Superbowl, and there weren’t any in Boston or New York during last year’s political Conventions. Political leaders and superstars are not the only targets that are attractive to terrorists. If we learned anything from Katrina, it is that a homeland security plan that leaves people behind isn’t good enough. We need to take steps to make these shipments more secure, and to
make them less attractive terrorist targets -- we cannot wait for more warnings. I have introduced legislation to upgrade the security associated with shipments of extremely hazardous materials. My legislation would increase the security of shipments of extremely hazardous materials such as those that are toxic by inhalation, and those that are highly explosive or highly flammable. The time for passing this legislation is now, not after the next attack,” said Rep. Markey.

More information on Representative Markey’s work to close the existing loopholes in chemical, transport,
and hazmat security can be found at http://www.house.gov/markey/

Teamster's Report: "High Alert:  Workers Warn of Security Gaps on Our Nation's Railways" iss_railsec_rep050929.pdf (478.54 KB)