Originally Posted by
Global_Hi_Flyer
Come to Union Station in DC (WAS). Ride the Acela. Usually it's Amtrak cops running the bag ransacks, but there are usually TSA folks there or nearby. Not every time, but for a while it was 25% of the trips.
They would have folks entering the platform walk past dogs, and they have been known to walk dogs through the train just before departure.
Union station in DC (WAS) is the belly of the beast. Of course there's going to be TSA there... SUPERVISED and under the auspices of Amtrak PD, who limit their entire operation to bag searches only.
25% in one station, vs. the REST of the country. I regularly depart from 30th st, and by going through Club Acela have not even been blinked at, once... even on the oh-so-dangerous NE Corridor.
I also regularly travel THROUGH WAS, and while my bag in the baggage car may be packed with AMFO
with a double-decker MARC or VRE train right next to the car, never been bothered.
In short, travel by air - you're guaranteed interaction with TSA. Travel by train? You're no more likely to encounter them than you would be to be pulled over driving.
Of course, as always, YMMV.