RAIL, BUS SECURITY TIGHTENED NO THREAT TO L.A. TRANSPORTATION SEEN DESPITE TRAIN ATTACKS IN INDIA.

Byline: RACHEL URANGA Staff Writer

Security was beefed up Wednesday on rail and bus lines in Los Angeles and other major U.S. cities in the wake of the terrorist bombings in Mumbai, India, that killed at least 200 rush-hour commuters, officials said.

Los Angeles transit police deployed more officers, increased patrols at Union Station and the Seventh Street and Metro transit hubs and assigned countersurveillance teams to look for suspicious commuters.

``There are no indications that what happened in India should be construed as a threat to service transportation in the United States,'' said Dan Finkelstein, chief of transit police for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

``But we are monitoring the situation. We are not going to consume a bunch of resources when there is no need to. ... To make our passengers feel safe, visibility is key.''

Finkelstein talked frequently throughout the day with officials in other U.S. cities, checking for indications of threats against rail lines or bus systems.

In 2005, after coordinated attacks on London subways killed 52 people, Los Angeles and MTA officials opened the city's emergency operations system and boosted transit patrols for a week.

Security went up from 115 deputies, private security guards and surveillance teams to more than 300 personnel.

Far fewer -- about 10 deputies -- have been added to all shifts in the wake of the Mumbai (formerly Bombay) bombings. Finkelstein said for the immediate future, the department will maintain this level of security.

Still, officials point out that the London bombings on July 5, 2005, set off alarm bells among Los Angeles transit officials who zeroed in on security.

Since then, the MTA has spent $9 million to strengthen security along the 73 miles of Metro subway and on its 2,700 buses.

More than 500 pan-tilt-and-zoom cameras -- so precise that they can capture the time on a passenger's watch -- have been added to trains and stations. More traditional surveillance cameras have also been placed on buses.

To mark the anniversary of the London subway attacks, Metrolink, the six-county commuter train system, deployed surveillance teams to conduct random searches of the system, three times a day.

``There is no threat against Metrolink. But there was concern on the date of the anniversary that some less than stable human being might decide that would be a great date to do something,'' spokeswoman Denise Tyrrell said.

Transit experts say Los Angeles -- with the third-largest transit agency in the country -- must be especially vigilant. A 2003 government report found that one-third of all terrorist attacks against infrastructures were aimed at transit systems.

``Nationally, where we have fallen behind, is the availability of funds for transit systems,'' said Greg Hull, director of operations safety and security for the American Public Transportation Association, noting that the U.S. government spends millions more on aviation safety than on public transit traveled by 16 times more people.

rachel.uranga(at)dailynews.com

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