Re: Homeland Security & rail passengers

Window Dressing.
The Renfe Cercarias trains in Madrid had a much high security presence than anywhere else I've seen. They even have a "no photography rule" (at least that's what I think the guard was trying to tell me). What I didn't sense was people we allowed to care what was going on. If someone left a backpack on the floor, they'd probably just walk over it, in their hurry to exit the car. Even if they wanted to, there was usually not anybody to tell. And you couldn't throw it out the window because they didn't open.
What they need to do is import a bunch of UK Trainspotters or american railfans to keep track of everything unusual... (the hired security guards don't have any knowledge of normal operations).
I believe the US should do is let Joe Ordinary Person feel like he has some ownership in the problem. The government certainly can't do it all.