AMTRAK STARTS TO POLICE RAILS FROM AIR

WASHINGTON, Nov. 26 - Amtrak has begun to police its tracks from the skies
with a helicopter leased with money forfeited by drug dealers.

The Amtrak police put a sergeant and a hired pilot aboard the helicopter, a
Bell Jet Ranger, to ride above the rails from Boston to Washington.

While the helicopter's primary mission will be policing this stretch, which
is Amtrak's busiest, the helicopter could be called upon by the Amtrak
police in other regions, Ron Frazier, the railroad's police department
chief, said.

The money comes to Amtrak from a Justice Department program that rewards
state and local authorities that have helped solve drug trafficking cases.

Mr. Frazier said the helicopter would focus on patrolling Amtrak's right of
way, watching for trespassers and vandals on the tracks along the Northeast
Corridor of the passenger rail line.

The helicopter patrol will also help watch the rails when trains are
carrying valuable goods, sensitive military equipment or important
government officials.

The helicopter hovering above the rails will communicate with the railroad
police on the ground, as well as with local authorities, who often are
called in to help catch vandals or trespassers that the train's crew has
spotted.

The helicopter flew its first mission earlier this month, when Amtrak's
high-speed Acela Express had its inaugural run between Washington and New
York. Several members of Congress were on that train.

For more than 15 years, the Justice Department and other enforcement
agencies, like the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Customs Service,
have worked with railroad authorities to intercept drugs, said Robert
Sharp, a Justice Department official.

"We've cooperated with Amtrak for years, especially with drug trafficking
up and down the East Coast," Mr. Sharp said.

Amtrak's helicopter patrols are the first such railroad program since the
1970's, when the Department of Transportation financed similar operations.

Despite their success in reducing vandalism, the operations ended when the
federal money ran out.