The Guardian reports today that train stations in the UK are considering passenger security to be implemented in a similar fashion to airports. The problem with train stations today, which they rightly identify, is that they are not “closed”, especially compared to the sealed-off nature of airport terminals. Trains also are regularly accessible, unlike planes at 30,000 ft.

When you get right down to it, train security actually does not have much in common with planes other than the movement of large numbers of passengers on a schedule (e.g. “public transportation”).

The airport screening model seems to be increasingly considered high-cost and largely biased in some odd control areas, especially if you consider the lack of relevance to other forms of public transportation, so let’s hope the upcoming conference gets back to the basics like preventive and detective controls, defense-in-depth, etc.