Amtrak Shutdown in Boston

[amamba]

I hope you mean Boston South Station and not Malden. In Malden there is an orange line T stop, but you cannot take Amtrak from Malden.

I would try BOS (south station) if you can make it. Better boarding options.

 

[Acela150]

I would go with BOS. Although the ticket office will be jammed. My suggestion is if you have a ClubAcela pass I'd use it.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Things were happening VERY quickly. Hopefully things will be resolved soon.

Watching and listening to CNN as they fill time babbeling on and on about nothing and repeating themselves about nothing over and over again makes it seem like everything is in ultra slow motion on the ground and they are all on black mollies ( heavy speed from the 70's)

I feel for everyone involved

Now New Orleans is going nuts as the local news announces "bomb threats" to downtown hotels. They corrected themselves later to say it was an unattended package at the Mariott. The next few weeks will be hard on everyone. sigh...........

You know, people should report suspect packages, backpacks, etc, but the media should wait till it's contents have been confirmed before reporting it & then only report it if it is a bomb.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

ABC reporting he's in custody.

 

[amamba]

ABC reporting he's in custody.

Yup.

 

[Shawn Ryu]

South Station is locked up like prison. Securities everywhere asking for ID and tix.

 

[jis]

Extraordinary to see a major US city under lockdown.

It shouldn't be happening. This won't help catch the suspect, mark my words.

Words duly marked. Current score:
FBI 1, Nathaniel 0

 

[Acela150]

South Station is locked up like prison. Securities everywhere asking for ID and tix.

I think it's time they relax a bit.

 

[Acela150]

Extraordinary to see a major US city under lockdown.

It shouldn't be happening. This won't help catch the suspect, mark my words.

Words duly marked. Current score:
FBI 1, Nathaniel 0

Due to the loss Nathaniel must join AU.... In our dreams.

 

[Shawn Ryu]

On train now. The ordeal is done.

 

[Acela150]

Shawn are you on 67? Or a normal Regional Consist?

 

[pennyk]

On train now. The ordeal is done.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Glad to hear. Now I can go to bed knowing your on your way back to NYC.

Conclusion of today's episode of "As the Train Rolls". :giggle:

 

[Shawn Ryu]

Shawn are you on 67? Or a normal Regional Consist?

67 train only one put of south station

 

[Acela150]

Service disruptions between BAL and WAS due to the weather. What else can go wrong?

 

[Shawn Ryu]

Police aboard the train.

 

[MattW]

The suspect might be caught and his cohort dead, but the fact remains that two thugs shut down an entire American city for a day, disrupting millions and causing who knows how many hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars, of financial disruption. They still won.

 

[pennyk]

Police aboard the train.

Is the train full? I hope you are able to relax on your way home.

 

[Shawn Ryu]

I dont mind the cop. Seems like a good dude.

 

[crescent2]

So very thankful the suspect has been captured without even more loss of life.

 

[SarahZ]

The suspect might be caught and his cohort dead, but the fact remains that two thugs shut down an entire American city for a day, disrupting millions and causing who knows how many hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars, of financial disruption. They still won.

No, they didn't. If we allow any potential copycats to think that way, these things will continue to occur. It is very sad, but Boston will recover, the injured victims will recover, families and friends who lost loved ones will grieve and recover, and life will go on. It happened after 9/11, and it will happen again. The BAA has already stated, without hesitation, they plan to host the Boston Marathon next year.

Only four days after the events occurred - four days - one suspect is dead, and the other is in custody. I consider that a WIN for the police, the FBI, the witnesses, the first responders, and anyone/everyone else involved.

 

[Acela150]

Their are two trains running the shore line. 178 North to BOS. Which is on-time, and 67 which is also on-time. The NEC is an ugly mess of delays.

 

[MattW]

The suspect might be caught and his cohort dead, but the fact remains that two thugs shut down an entire American city for a day, disrupting millions and causing who knows how many hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars, of financial disruption. They still won.

No, they didn't. If we allow any potential copycats to think that way, these things will continue to occur. It is very sad, but Boston will recover, the injured victims will recover, families and friends who lost loved ones will grieve and recover, and life will go on. It happened after 9/11, and it will happen again. The BAA has already stated, without hesitation, they plan to host the Boston Marathon next year.

Only four days after the events occurred - four days - one suspect is dead, and the other is in custody. I consider that a WIN for the police, the FBI, the witnesses, the first responders, and anyone/everyone else involved.

But how badly altered will the next marathon be? What new and outrageous security "restrictions" will be placed on people just watching it? On the runners themselves? Within our own community, we have had members harassed by authorities for engaging in Constitutionally-protected activities, in different parts of the country entirely, and the excuse given is "9/11" which was over a decade ago. Already, in this very topic, we've seen members freedom of movements restricted because of this, the police asking for ID in the train station, and just the fact that transportation to and around Boston was shut down because of two idiots. The proper response today would have been for Boston to declare to the world that they weren't going to let this affect them, and for everyone to go about their business as normal and for transportation to remain operating. Heightened law enforcement presence on the lookout? Sure. But two idiots got an entire city to cower for them. Catching this one and killing the other may be a victory, but it's a small victory in the shadow of a huge defeat.

 

[CHamilton]

It is very sad, but Boston will recover, the injured victims will recover, families and friends who lost loved ones will grieve and recover, and life will go on. It happened after 9/11, and it will happen again.

Agreed. I was at Seattle's beautifully-restored King Street Station today (can't wait to see the new waiting room next week...) cashing in a bunch of e-vouchers and making reservations for upcoming train trips.

The first thing that totalitarian governments do is restrict freedom of movement. We can't -- and won't -- let that happen here. The best way for us to defeat terrorism is to get out there and live our lives -- and take trains!

 

[SarahZ]

These idiots were throwing explosives out the windows of a car and shooting at cops. People were locked-down for safety. They lock-down schools when a gunman is on the loose, so this made sense. Additionally, when trying to find a needle in a haystack, would you rather have the hay separated into neat piles or allow the hay to blow around the barn while you look?

Heightened police presence at the airport, train stations, and bus stations would not have helped, as it is still easy to slip past them. Cops don't have eyes on all four sides of their heads. The security measures they took made sense. Yes, it was an inconvenience, but it was better than these two (or one) escaping to another city or country. We don't have moats and gates anymore, so this was the quickest way to "wall off" the city and trap them.

I posted a link to an article about how Boston's hospitals were prepared for this, thanks to the post-9/11 training and standards. (I believe it's back on page 3.) They were specifically trained for this kind of occurrence. Had they not been prepared for this, many more people would have died. Additionally, the "security theater" since 9/11 meant there were more first responders on the scene, which enabled the victims to get to the hospitals quicker.

I don't like the hassle of going through security at the airport, not to mention the restrictions, but in this case, while pursuing these suspects, the actions of the police were warranted. More lives could have been lost if Boston had gone about its business today, and/or the suspect may have escaped.

The terrorists did not win. One was killed. One was caught. They lost. Pure and simple.