ajor airports in the region combined" (1). Passenger rail is not the only and perhaps not the most serious threat. Much of the 160,000 miles of railroad track in America transports fright, including highly toxic chemicals passing through heavily populated areas (Kaplan 1). Such potentially dangerous rail shipments often have minimal security even now.
The focus of this analysis on rail funding will including passenger and freight rail. Both rail systems are inherently vulnerable to terrorist attack. Passenger rail in the U.S. takes four forms: heavy rail (e.g., subway systems like Washington D.C.'s Metro); commuter rail (e.g., Maryland's MARC); light rail (e.g., Dallas' DART); and, intercity passenger rail (Amtrak) (Peterman 3). The first three forms of passenger rail are typically included under the umbrella term "public or mass transit" (Peterman 3). The heavy and continual flow of passengers and the need for access also makes such rail systems vulnerable to terrorist attack as well a
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