Most Tracks At Olympics Lead To Chaos

The chug of freight trains is resonating among Olympic security planners, who are concerned about risks on a major line that is near three key competition venues.

Though Olympic officials and the railroad companies have discussed for months how to minimize the security risk, curtailing the rail traffic during the Games is not an option.

“Interstate commerce has to go on, even during the Olympics,” said Rick Harris, a spokesman for Norfolk Southern Corp., one of the two main users of the tracks in downtown Atlanta. “Things aren’t going to shut down in the rest of the country because the Olympics are here.”

The tracks, owned by CSX Corp., are part of a major north-south line for the freight industry. Halting traffic in Atlanta would affect business across the country, the railroad companies say.

One of the tracks on the line runs alongside the Georgia World Congress Center, a venue for six sports in the 1996 Olympics. The track continues underneath a plaza in front of The Omni, the venue for Olympic volleyball. An adjacent track is close to the Georgia Dome, the site for gymnastics and basketball.

Neither Olympic officials nor the railroads would talk about what is being discussed, though CSX spokesman Rob Gould said the possibility of limiting the number of trains running when Olympic crowds are present was raised - and dismissed - last spring.

CSX runs 109 trains a day on the line, which is a main point for trains between Florida and such northern cities as Baltimore and Chicago. Not all those trains pass the Olympic venues.

“That is a main route for us,” Gould said. “It would be detrimental to our operations to make any curtailment.”

Bill Rathburn, the chief of security at the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, would not say if he asked the railroads to cut back. He said the talks are focusing on such things as closer monitoring as the trains pass through and informing ACOG when hazardous materials are being carried. A fence may be erected alongside the tracks, he added.

Security experts say the trains running so close to the big Olympic crowds could be a lure for a terrorist.

“Obviously, it is a concern,” said Robert Heibel, a retired FBI agent who runs a research training course at Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pa.

“Certainly, a train represents an opportunity as a carrier of some kind of explosive device,” Heibel said. “Think of how easy it would be to attach something to a train.”

Mayer Nudell, a Washington-based anti-terrorism consultant, agreed the trains are a potential threat.

“The traditional hobo has been able to get a free ride on a freight train, so a terrorist could, too,” he said.

Rathburn downplayed the terrorism threat.

“Our biggest concern is not that somebody will try to blow up a train,” he said. “Our biggest concern is that a train could become derailed and create a hazard.”

Rathburn said similar concerns arose in 1988 when the Democratic National Convention was held at The Omni. The trains continued to run, but with increased monitoring by the railroads and police, he said.

Rathburn’s staff includes former Atlanta police officers who were involved with security during the convention, giving ACOG immediate rapport with the railroads.

“We can’t control the railroads, but it’s important to say we are getting a lot of cooperation from them. They understand the magnitude,” Rathburn said.

Heibel said both ACOG and the railroads will have to make compromises in the name of keeping people safe.

“You can always address a problem. It may not be to the liking of the railroads or even to the authorities, but something will have to be done,” he said.

Olympics notes

Jessica Foschi, the would-be Olympic swimmer who is under a two-year probation for a positive steroid test, won the 200- and 500-meter freestyle events at last week’s New York state high school championships. Foschi, 16, continues to maintain her innocence about the steroid charges, claiming her Gatorade was spiked at last summer’s U.S. Championships.

The U.S. canoe/kayak team has punched a hole in the bottom of its promotional boat: In a truly remarkable budget-cutting blunder, the team has tossed public relations whiz Craig Bohnert overboard. As U.S. Olympic teams prepare for the final buildup to the Atlanta Games, the low-profile sports (like canoe-kayak) ought to be increasing their PR and marketing staffs: There’s corporate gold to be mined right now, and those veins will be thoroughly played out after Atlanta.

Mike Gostigian of Newtown Square, Pa., won his fourth consecutive title at last week’s national championships in modern pentathlon. Olympic veteran Rob Stull of Austin, Texas, still recovering from a broken leg, did not fence, run or ride. He finished 20th overall.