Transit Security Seen and Unseen

Among rail passengers yesterday -- from Vienna to Baltimore, Woodley Park to Seat Pleasant, and all over downtown -- an air of cautious calm prevailed. Commuters generally seemed wary of terrorism, yet largely undaunted, riding in and around the nation's capital with a life-goes-on attitude.

The bombings in London last Thursday, which killed at least 52 people and wounded more than 700 others, seemed at once an ocean away and close to home.

"When your number's up, your number's up," said Francie Keenan, 50, who works for a Baltimore charitable foundation and travels to Washington by MARC train about once a week. "You just can't go around worrying about it."

Carolyn Larson, however, does worry. Riding from Takoma to Union Station on Metro's Red Line, Larson, 65, a librarian, said she thinks about terrorism "more than I used to. When our kids were younger, they took the Metro to high school. I wonder if I'd do that today."

Tanya Callaway, 35, a satellite radio manager, said she worries, too. "I'm always on guard," she said, traveling from Capitol Hill to Ballston on the Orange Line. "I'm looking for a couple of things -- bags, anything suspicious. Instead of looking for somebody who wants to rob me, I'm looking for somebody who wants to kill everybody."

Yet in Manassas, Hasan Kasmi, 18, said he felt at ease boarding a VRE car. "I wouldn't imagine anyone targeting out here," said Kasmi, an intern at a Washington law firm. "You'd think I would think more about it. I guess since the attack in London just happened, it won't happen soon again."

Metro, which has a 380-member police force, has been deploying its normal patrol of about 50 officers on each of three shifts, according to a Metro source who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the information is not public. The source said that shifts have not been extended and that there has been no blanket cancellation of days off or vacation time.

Chief Hanson declined to discuss patrol levels but said some officers have worked extra hours, and some have opted to work instead of going on vacation.

"One of the issues we're trying to figure out is how do you sustain this -- how long can you do this without burning people out," Hanson said.

She said she ordered desk officers who normally work in civilian clothes to put on uniforms and go to high-volume stations at peak travel times.

"Our administrative staff goes out every morning and afternoon, and we mix it up," she said, adding that Metro continues to get help from other agencies, including the U.S. Capitol, Amtrak and D.C. police forces.

"Maybe it doesn't look like much because the numbers are kind of small to begin with," she said. "So we're trying to supplement it with everyone we've got -- administrators, station managers, custodians."