House panel considers security report on Alameda Corridor

House panel considers security report on Alameda Corridor    One day after the railway bombings in Spain, the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Homeland Security began reviewing a report on the economic consequences of an act of terrorism along the Alameda Corridor East in Southern California.
   “The report is the only study done so far on the threat of terrorism on strategic rail corridors,” said Christopher Becker, executive director of Orange North-American Trade Rail Access Corridor (OnTrac) Joint Powers Authority in Los Angeles.
   “We believe that Al Qaeda’s apparent interest in rail attacks should be a call to action,” said Elsa Lee, chief executive officer of Advantage SCI in Redondo Beach, Calif. Lee contributed to the survey as a counter terrorism expert.
   The Madrid bombings “have sent shock waves” through “rail security systems around the world,” Becker said.
   The survey, titled “OnTrac Trade Impact Study: National Economic Significance of Rail Capacity and Homeland Security on the Alameda Corridor East,” was produced by Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. (LAEDC). The report documents the economic cost of a disruption of service in the corridor, which extends inland from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
   “The cost of shutting down the Alameda Corridor East represents a $414-million disruption value each day that it is shut down. A 10-day disruption due to a terrorist attack would cost $4.1 billion, and a closure of 30 days’ duration would cost $12.4 billion,” said Greg Freeman, director of public policy for LAEDC.