I don't see what the deal is. I travel between San Diego and Los Angeles regularly and I've never had my carry-on bag checked, much less my person.

This is one that I have never been able to figure. Like they really think it would be that hard to smuggle something onto a train. I mean an aircraft is one thing since it goes way up out of reach but a train should be fairly easy to get something onto especially since they go so slow now days.

And who really cares what you get on to a train anyhow? The thing is on rails...

Because there's money to be had from the US Taxpayers by hiring more union-goons from SEIU, and showing the few people that actually ride trains how technical and important it all is!

I rode the train from New Hampshire down to Boston a couple months ago - nice ride and a lot less stress than driving. It would have been child's play to take ANY weapon I own on board without them knowing about it. I suspect anyone with a little thought could probably get a Ma Deuce aboard. Incidentally, this commuter train did not appear to have any way to handle "checked" baggage.

Actually, Amtrak's only real concern was the cost that they would incur in having to accept and verify unloaded, safely packed firearms in the same way the airlines do. As you know they're perennially broke, so anything that could cost them more is - to them - a big deal.

The problem, as I see it, is that train baggage compartments are in no way as secure as airplane baggage compartments. The idea that passengers could securely store their firearms there strikes me as misguided.

Everyone would be safer if we simply allowed passengers to keep their firearms with them.

"that a passenger would somehow get into the baggage compartment and hijack the train."

and fly it into a building. Don't forget that part.

Amtrak's senior management resists this rule loosening.

Long time railroad workers consider allowing johnny law to screw with passengers to be anathema.

Traditionally, if a passenger became a problem, the conductor would have a railroad dick remove the idiot, and shove him off the right of way ... end of problem.

Which is why you see all these victim-disarmament rules put into place by political appointees in Amtrak, and then ignored by the people actually running the train. Want to board without getting screwed with? Buy the ticket in advance and use a flag or whistle-stop.

At least this is how it goes down in the West. You might have to deal with some other attitude on an eastern commuter train.

Amtrak baggage cars and sections are indeed not perfectly secure; they're not the same as the "express" cars moving mail and other time-senstive freight like a steel-wheeled FedEx.
While the wording of the news article is sparse and may not be perfectly accurate, the idea of declaring the presence of the firearm to baggage and other personnel is not comforting at all.
Additionally, many shorter distance trains such as the ones that run several times a day between Chicago and St. Louis don't have checked baggage service at all. Bringing your sidearm to St. Louis won't work on our semi-public railroad.
I'm too much of a goody-goody to carry it along, but we've made the run from Chicago to New Orleans a number of times and I'll have to say, I pretty much never missed my Commander more that that one particular evening on Dauphine Street in the Quarter back in '94...