Railways prime terror targets

SYDNEY – More Mumbai-style train attacks are inevitable, particularly in Asia and Africa, as terrorist groups target vulnerable rail networks because of heightened airport security, say analysts.

Security has been ramped up at airports since the September 11 hijacked airliner attacks on the United States in 2001: passengers are now randomly screened for bomb-making residue and face tighter identity controls. Rail networks, by comparison, have had only minor security upgrades such as the installation of surveillance cameras, the removal of rubbish bins and public awareness campaigns.Security analysts say it is impossible to make the world’s ageing rail networks – open transport systems with multiple entry and exit points – completely secure.Seven bombs on commuter trains and platforms in India’s financial hub, Mumbai, on July 11 killed 181 people and wounded hundreds.It was the third major attack on a commuter train system in two years after blasts in Madrid and London.”Trains are absolutely the new favoured target of terrorists due to the security at airports,” said Neil Fergus, former Sydney 2000 Olympic chief, and now head of Intelligent Risk in Sydney.”India’s rail network is incredibly complex and huge.The notion of applying industrialised security there is almost laughable,” said Fergus.”We are likely to find there will be more attacks in India, Indonesia and the north Africa environment.”Simultaneous bomb explosions in packed, rush-hour trains in three Madrid stations in 2004 killed 191 people and wounded more than 1 800.Four suicide bomb blasts on underground trains and a bus in London in 2005 kill 52 people and injured 700.The former head of counter-terrorism analysis in India’s external intelligence agency says rail networks may be targeted again because terrorists believe such attacks have been politically successful.”Terrorists have convinced themselves that it was their successful strike on trains in Madrid which forced the state (Spain) to withdraw its troops from Iraq,” says B Raman, who is now director of the Institute for Topical Studies in Chennai.”Mumbai was a copycat of Madrid.There could be copycats elsewhere,” Raman told Reuters.Rail authorities around the world have upgraded security, installing more closed-circuit televisions, removing rubbish bins from stations and launching awareness programmes asking commuters to look out for suspicious packages.But none have implemented passenger screening for fear of causing commuter chaos and anger.”For it to be effective as a mass transport system people must get on and off easily and the technology does not exist to screen people en masse,” says Clive Williams, terrorism analyst at the Australian National University.”It (rail) is clearly a soft target and easy to cause a tremendous number of casualties, particularly if you target rush hour.I think we will see a continuation of these tactics.”Williams says rail systems in the West will also remain soft targets, citing the undergrounds of London, New York and Sydney.”They were built without a security threat in mind.They are quite vulnerable.The reality is it is going to be very difficult to prevent these sorts of attacks,” he says.A recent security report on Australia’s rail network found it was still vulnerable to an attack, despite allocating A$50 million (about N$270,7 million) to upgrade video surveillance and the removal of rubbish bins from Sydney’s underground rail stations.Rand Corporation analyst Peter Chalk said that in addition to tightening rail security, the Australian authorities should change the design of trains to limit fatalities and injuries.”Many trains have design features that could amplify the destructive effects of explosive devices,” Chalk wrote in the report, published in June by Jane’s Strategic Advisory Service.Chalk said carriages need pop-out roofs and windows that would channel the force of an explosion outside a carriage and prevent it from rebounding inwards towards passengers.But while developed cities like Sydney, London and Madrid will incorporate the latest security technology to thwart attacks, security analysts say ageing railways in developing countries will have to rely on plain old police work.”Preventive security measures would entail large expenditure and countries in Asia and Africa may not be able to make that kind of investment.Hence, they become more vulnerable than Western countries,” said Raman.- Nampa-ReutersRail networks, by comparison, have had only minor security upgrades such as the installation of surveillance cameras, the removal of rubbish bins and public awareness campaigns.Security analysts say it is impossible to make the world’s ageing rail networks – open transport systems with multiple entry and exit points – completely secure.Seven bombs on commuter trains and platforms in India’s financial hub, Mumbai, on July 11 killed 181 people and wounded hundreds.It was the third major attack on a commuter train system in two years after blasts in Madrid and London.”Trains are absolutely the new favoured target of terrorists due to the security at airports,” said Neil Fergus, former Sydney 2000 Olympic chief, and now head of Intelligent Risk in Sydney.”India’s rail network is incredibly complex and huge.The notion of applying industrialised security there is almost laughable,” said Fergus.”We are likely to find there will be more attacks in India, Indonesia and the north Africa environment.”Simultaneous bomb explosions in packed, rush-hour trains in three Madrid stations in 2004 killed 191 people and wounded more than 1 800.Four suicide bomb blasts on underground trains and a bus in London in 2005 kill 52 people and injured 700.The former head of counter-terrorism analysis in India’s external intelligence agency says rail networks may be targeted again because terrorists believe such attacks have been politically successful.”Terrorists have convinced themselves that it was their successful strike on trains in Madrid which forced the state (Spain) to withdraw its troops from Iraq,” says B Raman, who is now director of the Institute for Topical Studies in Chennai.”Mumbai was a copycat of Madrid.There could be copycats elsewhere,” Raman told Reuters.Rail authorities around the world have upgraded security, installing more closed-circuit televisions, removing rubbish bins from stations and launching awareness programmes asking commuters to look out for suspicious packages.But none have implemented passenger screening for fear of causing commuter chaos and anger.”For it to be effective as a mass transport system people must get on and off easily and the technology does not exist to screen people en masse,” says Clive Williams, terrorism analyst at the Australian National University.”It (rail) is clearly a soft target and easy to cause a tremendous number of casualties, particularly if you target rush hour.I think we will see a continuation of these tactics.”Williams says rail systems in the West will also remain soft targets, citing the undergrounds of London, New York and Sydney.”They were built without a security threat in mind.They are quite vulnerable.The reality is it is going to be very difficult to prevent these sorts of attacks,” he says.A recent security report on Australia’s rail network found it was still vulnerable to an attack, despite allocating A$50 million (about N$270,7 million) to upgrade video surveillance and the removal of rubbish bins from Sydney’s underground rail stations.Rand Corporation analyst Peter Chalk said that in addition to tightening rail security, the Australian authorities should change the design of trains to limit fatalities and injuries.”Many trains have design features that could amplify the destructive effects of explosive devices,” Chalk wrote in the report, published in June by Jane’s Strategic Advisory Service.Chalk said carriages need pop-out roofs and windows that would channel the force of an explosion outside a carriage and prevent it from rebounding inwards towards passengers.But while developed cities like Sydney, London and Madrid will incorporate the latest security technology to thwart attacks, security analysts say ageing railways in developing countries will have to rely on plain old police work.”Preventive security measures would entail large expenditure and countries in Asia and Africa may not be able to make that kind of investment.Hence, they become more vulnerable than Western countries,” said Raman.- Nampa-Reuters