While in Bonner’s Ferry, I van camped in the fairgrounds complex, off HWY 95. I have already written about sleeping near the train yard. I have not yet mentioned the morning walk that Tango and I took near the tracks. I noticed a number of box cars with open doors. Open box cars are rare these days, thanks to special locks used to keep people from jumping trains. That moment is when my imagination started working overtime. Who might have entered the US in those cars? Terrorists?  Are trains inbound from Canada a perfect way for them to enter the US?

Then I read this: 

“I live in Canada (just to prevent any confusion). A few months ago a teenage girl from a small city near where I live had a disagreement with her parents and decided to run away. She found a stopped CN train, jumped on the “porch” of a hopper and fell asleep (I don’t know if she considered that the train might actually be going somewhere or just saw it as a convenient place to sleep). When she woke up the train was moving and she eventually ended up in Duluth. The local police sent her to NYC where she was turned over to Canadian officials and eventually reunited with her parents. My question is: How is it in post 9/11 world that someone can hop on a freight train and cross the border?. I was under the impression that trains were x-rayed at the border”

Yikes! What would prevent a terrorist from falling asleep on the decking? However, I learned from the article, How Terrorists Get In, that none of the 9-11 terrorists entered that way. They each entered legally and then exploited the legal systems. At the same site, I learned about terrorist entry into the US before and after 9-11:

“Foreign-born Islamic terrorists have used almost every conceivable means of entering the country over the last decade. They have come as students, tourists, and business visitors. They have also been lawful permanent residents (LPRs) and naturalized U.S. citizens. They have sneaked across the border illegally, arrived as stowaways on ships, used false passports, or been granted amnesty. Terrorists have even exploited America’s humanitarian tradition of welcoming those seeking asylum. At the time they committed their crimes, 16 of the 48 terrorists considered in this analysis were on temporary visas (primarily tourist visas); another 17 were lawful permanent residents or naturalized U.S. citizens; 12 were illegal alien,; and 3 of the 48 had applications for asylum pending.”

“Lawful permanent residents (also known as green-card holders) have also played an integral role in terrorism. In all, 11 LPRs have been convicted or pled guilty to terrorist activities. These include Mahmud Abouhalima, one of the leaders of the first World Trade Center bombing, who became a legal resident after falsely claiming to be an agricultural worker, allowing him to qualify for a green card as part of the 1986 amnesty. Another LPR was Mohammed Saleh, who provided the money and the fuel oil needed to create the bombs for the massive terrorist plot targeting landmarks around New York City in the summer of 1993. The ringleader of this plot, Siddig Ibrahim Siddig Ali, was also a legal permanent resident.”

Back to trains! What about methods to mitigate entry of terrorists or others on freight trains from Canada? Techniques include profile scanning, checking manifests, checking waybills, background checks against the crew, checking against the national security databases, all sorts of stuff. Even X-ray, infrared, radiation detectors, all sorts of different tools is in their bag of tricks. Authorities have not caught anyone, but does that mean the techniques are successful OR does it mean terrorists are getting through?

Some people are more optimistic about the situation, as seen in these comments by a Former Canadian Rail Worker:

“I was on a few CP Rail freights in 2003 that required us to cross the border from Canada into the USA. (Buffalo, NY).  Before you could make a trip into the USA,  CP would submit your name and credentials to the US border service to be checked out.  Then you would have to take a rules course to obtain a CSX rules card for operation on their territory in the USA.  Once that was done, you were qualified for train operation in the United States.”

“As for actually taking the freight train over the border, the US customs service would already have all your bills and paperwork as you were leaving your home terminal.  They knew we were coming and what we had.

We would then stop in Welland, Ontario to call the CSX Dispatcher to let them know we would be at the border shortly and also to pick to up the CSX Daily Operating Bulletin along with any other paperwork that pertained to our train and their territory.

Upon arrival at the border, we would call the US Customs Service on the radio (they monitored the main line channel), and give them our train id, number of cars, number of loads and number of empties, etc.  Their truck would be parked beside the tracks on the USA side and we would run by them at 5 mph while the agents did a rolling inspection.  After the train cleared the agents, they would call us on the radio and tell us “OK to proceed” or “Stop your train”.

Once you received your clearance from the Customs Inspectors, we were on our way to the CSX freight yard in Buffalo, NY.  This would entail traveling on the CSX mainline for about 8 miles and then waiting our turn to enter the yard.  Once in the yard we were under the jurisdiction of the CSX Yardmaster and they may just have us cut our train off and put the power to the Shop Track or we could be making a few moves in the yard before going to the Shop.

I have not brought a train over since 2003, but apparently now trains are also electronically scanned (X-ray machine).  This is also done while traveling at a very slow speed.  Anybody who tries to enter the United States illegally from Canada by trying to hide on a freight train while it crosses the border will find out in a hurry how well the scanner will work when used for that purpose.

Since freight train crews have already been cleared by US Customs, there usually is no need to stop unless they request it.  Passenger trains are a completely different scenario, as Customs have no idea who is on the train until every passenger is processed.”

And finally, what about the threat to Canada, from terrorists who originate in the US?

“…APTN says it would have clearly indicated there is a “wide gaping hole in Canadian security” on freight trains entering the country leaving Canadians vulnerable to potential terrorist attacks because the CBSA doesn’t properly examine freight trains from the United States.”

Rail is one of the least scrutinized cargo methods so if you have something that you need to move, one of the best ways to move anything is by rail…and that’s because there’s no enforcement,” the officer said”.

So, dangerous train hopping is not high on the terrorist’s list of preferred transportation into infidel space, despite my overactive imagination and the loopholes in security systems. Terrorists are too smart for that, and I learned that entry into the US is far easier through legal channels.

By the way, if you are thinking about heading out on an adventure and jumping trains, here is your packing checklist Also, I can direct you to several open box cars! The list below and everything else you need to know is available at http://modes.io/how-to-hop-a-freight-train/

• Dark clothes
• dark pack under 25 pounds
• Sturdy gloves
• Sturdy boots
• RR Atlas or Map
• Headlamp
• Warm, waterproof Jacket
• Light, warm bedding
• Water
• Non-parishable food
• Newspaper (kindling, TP, entertainment)

Tomorrow:  The Real Problem with Terrorists and Trains