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New transport security weighed
21/07/2005 21:00 - (SA)
London - Two attacks in two weeks on London's subway and bus system prompted questions on Thursday about security on the capital's transport network.
Police have already enlisted in a team of sniffer dogs to carry out spot checks for explosives. But fewer than 2 000 police officers patrol a bus and subway system that carries about nine million people a day.
Four suicide attackers killed at least 52 people on July 7, when they detonated bombs on three trains and a bus in central London at morning rush hour. Just after midday on Thursday, there were failed attempts to set off four bombs, again on three trains and a bus. Metropolitan police commissioner Ian Blair said it was unclear whether Thursday's attacks were related to those two weeks ago.
In New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said police would begin conducting random searches of packages and backpacks carried by people entering the city's subway system. Impracticable
Transport for London, which runs the British capital's bus and transport network, rejected such measures, however.
Spokesperson Steve Taylor said it would be impracticable to check bags, or to install airport-style metal detectors and X-ray machines in a subway network that carries 3 million passengers a day, or a bus system that carries about 6 million daily.
"We are running a massive transport infrastructure," he told The Associated Press. P>"Would people accept an additional 30 to 40 minutes on their journey every morning and afternoon? "It would bring the network to a standstill."
Taylor said already 1 200 officers from the British transport police patrolled the subway system, known as the Tube. A further 700 officers from London's metropolitan police travelled on the bus network. Commuters
Some commuters, still shocked by the carnage on July 7, said it may be time for tighter security to protect Londoners from attack.
"I would rather be safe. Metal detectors are a good deterrent, so I would give up part of my day," said Kate Marven as she ducked into a subway station in central London, resigned to the inevitable delays that such a measure would cause.
Others disagreed. "You cannot treat it like an airport," said Karen Bollan from east London. "There are just too many people to back it up like that. "Riding the Tube is a danger you take, living in a major capital city. "Chances are, it will be relatively safe."
Patrick Mercer, homeland security spokesperson for the main opposition Conservative Party spoke 18 months ago about the dangers of a terrorist attack on the Tube. He called for safety instructions to be posted in subway carriages, informing commuters what to do in the event of an attack, and suggested a system of coloured arrows in the subway tunnels - green to guide people out and red to stay on the Tube if the lines remained electrified. "The measures were not adopted.
"It seems that my predictions were pretty well spot on," Mercer told AP. "I have no doubt that we can expect further attacks and I hope that we can learn the lessons quickly." Sniffer dogs
In the wake of the July 7 bombings, 28 specially trained dogs are patrolling the Underground network in an effort to sniff out explosives.
The dogs are stationed at the ticket turnstiles and also roam the trains, but experts question the effectiveness of so few dogs to patrol a sprawling system that covers 1 520²km.
"It is like a totem pole placed on the village green to ward off evil spirits," said Bill Durodie, a senior lecturer at the UK defence academy told AP.
Durodie said increased security measures were "not only impracticable, it is not going to solve the problem."
"Most people realise that determined individuals will be able to get through whatever technological barriers put in their place," he said.
- AP
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