D.C. subway braces for Inauguration Day crush

(Compiler's note: This describes a "target rich" environment.)

By Thomas Frank and Kevin Johnson

WASHINGTON — Lisa Farbstein was blunt when she described the suffocating conditions expected in Washington subways on Inauguration Day.

"We call it crush load," said Farbstein, a spokeswoman for Washington's transit authority. "It's going to be very uncomfortable."

Security officials and experts are voicing concern not only about the comfort level, but also about protecting the system from terrorists Jan. 20.

"Given the historic nature of this election and the number of people who are going to be here, the eyes of the world will be focused on D.C." — including those of possible terrorists, said Brian Jackson, an analyst at RAND Corp., a think tank.

More than 1 million riders are likely to cram into Washington's subway cars on Inauguration Day, shattering the single-day record of 850,000 set this past July 4, said Jim Graham, a member of Washington's City Council. The system averages 750,000 riders on weekdays and is the USA's second-busiest, behind New York City's.

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Because rail cars and public buses are likely to be full all day, mass transit will get "special attention," said John Perren, who heads the FBI's counterterrorism division in Washington. "Those areas of high concern are in those enclosed areas."

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which runs a regional subway and bus system, has asked transit police from other cities to send officers, the first time such help has been sought for an inauguration, authority spokesman Steven Taubenkibel said.

Roughly 150 police officers and bomb-sniffing dogs will come from 12 transit authorities, ranging from New York City and Boston to Sacramento and Utah. The Transportation Security Administration will provide 10 dog teams.

"We're doing everything we can," Graham said.

Terrorists have attacked mass transit systems more than any other transportation venue, said Brian Jenkins, director of the National Transportation Security Center at San Jose State University. A study by Jenkins in 2007 found there were an average 30 attacks a year on rail systems from 1998 to 2003.

Since then, terrorists have staged high-profile attacks on rail systems in Madrid, London and Mumbai, where an attack in 2006 killed more than 200 people.

Subway security has been increased for past major events, most notably the 2004 Democratic and Republican conventions, held in Boston and New York City. Police in those cities searched subway riders at random and focused on people who had large bags or appeared suspicious, perhaps by wearing a heavy coat in the hot weather.

Cold weather is likely at Barack Obama's inauguration, so a terrorist hiding a suicide vest under a heavy coat would blend in with the crowd, said security consultant Jerome Hauer, former head of New York City's Office of Emergency Management.

Another concern is that the Washington transit authority, known as Metro, is not putting any special restrictions on what subway riders can carry on cars Jan. 20. "Passengers may be going to other places and need to carry briefcases to work," Taubenkibel said.

Suitcases are a common sight on two of the system's five subway lines that run through downtown Washington on their way to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

"You certainly could put a size limitation (on bags) for one day," Jenkins said. Size restrictions might not stop a bombing but could limit its lethality, Jenkins said.

The subway system has 86 stations in Washington, Maryland and Virginia, 106 miles of track and 420 police. Each rail car can hold about 150 people.

Trains go throughout downtown Washington and run within a couple of blocks of the White House and the Capitol but do not travel underneath those buildings.

Subways pass under Pennsylvania Avenue, site of the Inaugural Parade, and the National Mall, where more than 1 million spectators are likely to watch the inauguration.

Amtrak authorities are preparing for a single-day record number of travelers on inauguration morning in Washington's Union Station, an iconic 101-year-old marble structure. Dogs will sweep the station, and police will be ubiquitous.

"You won't be able to go 20, 30 feet without seeing someone in authority," said John O'Connor, Amtrak police chief.