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Will Texas’ Japanese Trains Have Japanese Cops?

Read More: https://medium.com/homeland-security...ps-c265cdaff82

The private Texas Central Railway is proposing a high-speed train for Texas using Japanese technology and operational methods, but they haven’t said publicly how they will provide security.

- The Texas Central Railway (TCR), a private corporation, is proposing a high-speed train for Texas using Japanese technology and operational methods with the potential to be “a transformative event in the history of the nation’s transportation system.” --- According to TCR, the project involves “the international version of the Tokaido Shinkansen total system currently in operation between Tokyo and Osaka, Japan. This international version will feature the core system — passenger train, overhead catenary, tracks, signaling — along with all of the corresponding maintenance and operations protocols….”

- No governmental entity will own or operate this train, which will make it unique among passenger trains in the United States (not counting tourist-oriented, dinner trains, or other enterprises not intended to move people from point A to point B). However, TCR has not publicly indicated how it will approach security, law enforcement, or other police activities related to the train project. Its public statements themselves require some skepticism, as the developer’s materials carry this disclaimer or some variation of it.

- “All claims and descriptions of the high-speed rail system’s operations, including service and station amenities, are solely suggestions of potentiality based on examples from other high-speed rail around the world and for promotional purposes only. TCR will not be the owner, developer, implementer nor operator of the railroad. The railroad’s owner or operator will be responsible for coordinating with regulatory agencies and others regarding the specific aspects of the system’s service.”

- Security is a major concern for such systems. From January 2004 through July 2008 there were 530 terrorist attacks worldwide against passenger rail targets, resulting in more than 2,000 deaths and 9,000 injuries. The Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) considers passenger railroads to be high consequence targets in terms of potential loss of life and economic disruption as they carry large numbers of people in a confined environment, offer the opportunity for specific populations to be targeted at particular destinations, and often have iconic structures such as TCR will have.

- In Japan, high-speed rail trains do not have a separate intelligence or security infrastructure; rather, they are integrated into the mass-transit structure with commuter and local trains. Passengers boarding trains are not screened. Information about the true safety and security practices of Japanese trains is hard to come by, which may be a result of the privatized nature of the Japanese rail system. What stands out, however, is the sarin gas incident of 1995.

- The United States government, through the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), has oversight of security on passenger rail systems. Its approach for rail is similar to that for intercity buses, as opposed to the screening and security levels provided for air transportation. Passenger rail receives minimal security oversight from the state level. Local rail systems are public entities and provide their own security or rely on police agencies.

- TCR could approach security in the same manner as intercity buses. TSA’s security can range from random checks to airline-style checkpoints, but the President of TCR has publicly rejected “TSA-type [airline-style] security.” While public transit agencies can employ their own peace officers, TCR does not fit the current legal definition of public transit agency. TCR might be able to rely on existing transit police at terminals but these officers would be limited to their home agencies’ geographic jurisdiction without a change in law and their participation in fusion centers is unknown as of this writing.

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