Amtrak riders will be able to carry unloaded guns, as well as up to 11 pounds of ammunition, on most American trains after December 15, lifting a decade-long ban.
The new policy would allow passengers to bring guns on trains with checked baggage service in hard-sided containers that will be stored in train lockers. Gun owners must also inform Amtrak that they are transporting a weapon 24 hours before departure.
Owners are already permitted to store unloaded guns on planes in locked baggage holds.
The gun ban was one of the few rules where trains had stricter security policies than airplanes.
Post-9/11, airports have gone through increasingly tougher controls like full-body scanners and intrusive pat-down searches. Train passengers, however, board trains without going through metal detectors or having their baggage screened, but could not bring unloaded guns with them until now.
In order to accommodate to the new rules, Amtrak officials say they made changes to 142 baggage cars to accommodate gun storage. Amtrak also made changes to its reservation system, installed secure storage facilities at trains stations with checked baggage service, added signage indicating restricted passenger zones and put employees through a training program to deal with the change.
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Amtrak estimated that these changes cost about $2 million to make. However, the organization is uncertain how many passengers might ultimately choose to transport their guns.
The decision to allow guns on Amtrak trains has been contentious. A 2009 legislative fight over the issue nearly saw Amtrak stripped of its entire $1.5 billion annual federal subsidy.
Gun-control activists and Amtrak police, however, were pleased to have won concessions such as requiring locked storage and 24-hour advance notice.
The National Rifle Association and other gun rights activists are calling the change a victory for people who want to carry firearms for hunting or for safety reasons.
Despite worries that bringing guns on board would make it easier for terrorists to bring weapons on trains, Federal Homeland Security officials have indicated that as long as security protocols are enforced, the agency is supportive of the new rules.
By Adriana Padilla for PeterGreenberg.com.
Related Links: Sacramento Bee, USA Today, News 10 Sacramento
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