Academics call for intelligent rail security

European governments have been cautioned against a knee-jerk reaction, as they review railway security, following a thwarted attack on a high-speed train from Amsterdam to Paris.

The warning comes ahead of emergency talks on Saturday between rail representatives from several European countries in France.

Last Friday, a Moroccan man with links to radical Islam, brandished several weapons on a Thalys rail service traveling through Belgium, before being overpowered by other passengers.

Several newspapers reported that the European Union was considering the introduction of airport-type security screening at major railway stations in the wake of the incident, as officials acknowledged that a much bigger tragedy had been averted.

But several academics called on ministers to focus on improving intelligence gathering and information sharing instead.

“There are too many people and too many intermediate points (on the railway network),” Nigel Inkster, a director at the International Institute for Strategic Studies told the Financial Times.

Inkster said airport-style security would “prove impossible,” adding that terrorists would be driven to carry out attacks at shopping centers and other targets.

Europe's rail network has been targeted by terrorists before, notably in London and Madrid.

Last Friday's failed attack led France's interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve to insist that rail passengers undergo “coordinated,”“systematic checks” from now on.

But several academics predicted that the measures mooted by European media would prove costly and cause transport gridlock.

In an interview with DW's Inside Europe radio show, Dr Hervé Borrion, a terrorism and security specialist at University College London (UCL) acknowledged that railway stations in China and India already have scanners for passengers and luggage.

“But they had space to develop stations that were designed for this purpose. We (in Europe) have a lot of stations with no space to include that type of equipment,” Borrion added. Much of Europe's rail infrastructure is more than 100 years old.

“The main question is: ‘Do we need to change everything because of a single attack?' Borrion told DW.

“If we change everything as soon as there is an attack, then soon we'll have to change half of the city, (introduce security scanners) in cinemas for example.”

At present, Spain is one of a few European countries to use security scanners for some inter-city rail passengers. The Eurostar, connecting London and Brussels and Paris requires passport and luggage checks.

Belgium has introduced patrols on trains traveling through its territory following Friday's failed attack. Other countries are expected to follow.

French Senator, Nathalie Goulet, who led a commission investigating jihadi networks agreed that disproportionate measures could weaken a vital public transport network.

Goulet was quoted by Associated Press as calling for “logical measures, not extravagant things,” measures which can be put in place “easily.”

Fears are also rising that the days of borderless travel through 26 European countries could be numbered, as it allows terrorists to move around undetected. For now, EU officials have ruled out changing the Schengen agreement. But the Thalys incident, as well as the current migrant crisis, have put the issue under the spotlight.

Attending Saturday's rail security talks in Paris will be representatives from Belgium, Britain, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland. The European Union's top transport and interior affairs officials are also invited.

Experts predict, at the very least, the meeting will lead to more security cameras at stations and metal detectors at entrances.

mm/jm (AP, DW)