Rail Transportation Urged to Boost Security After Spanish Bombings

The Department of Homeland Security is advising state and local officials to boost security measures on the nation's rail transportation in the wake of last week's deadly commuter train bombings in Spain. The agency, however, has no immediate plans to boost the nation's terror alert level.

According to an article by Frank James in the Chicago Tribune, the DHS's undersecretary for border and transportation security Asa Hutchinson spoke with state homeland security advisers and officials of major transit systems to share what the department knew about the Madrid attacks.

Hutchinson also encouraged the officials to have a more visible law-enforcement presence at train stations and along transit lines. The agency is also recommending deployment of additional explosives-detection teams and the greater use of public announcements to get rail and mass transit users to watch for suspicious activity.

Despite the heightened anxieties caused by the Spanish bombings, Hutchinson says the DHS has no immediate plans to raise the nation's terror alert level. The level is currently at yellow, or elevated.

To read James' full article , Click Here>>