For a long time, the primary concern when it came to rail security was people wanting to steal a freight train’s contents, shoot the crew or rob the passengers; the U.S. post-9/11 focus on security, however, is shining a new spotlight on other hazards surrounding railroads; the desire to protect the railroads, their employees, and passengers must be balanced by what can really be done given that rail is used to move large numbers of people and large quantities of goods; railroad security — whether for passenger rails, commuter lines, or freight trains — is thus a complicated endeavor