Munich station closed due to terrorist threat

[deltic]

Munich Central station and Passing station were closed at New Year due to a terrorist suicide bomb threat.

This seems a difficult issue to deal with and a no win situation. Obviously the authorities have to ensure safety of the public but if a target station is closed one would expect the attacker just to pick another busy area - indeed once a station is closed large crowds would gather around it anyway trying to work out what to do becoming a target in themselves.

The July 7 attacks in London saw one bomber target a bus because the tube network being closed down and actually probably killed more people as a result.

Sadly we are likely to see an increase in such situations both here and in continental Europe - dont envy those who have to take decision to close or not in these circumstances.

 

[Bletchleyite]

We'll cope. While the threat itself is a bit different, the disruption is similar to that in the IRA days. We coped then.

 

[miami]

While all the hand wringing about potential bombs was happening I see 3 people died in the railway in the morning of Jan 1st, and another few on the roads.


360 people were killed on the roads in July in France, yet I didn't see the wall-to-wall coverage like with November

 

[gordonthemoron]

it was new year in munich. There would not be large crowds in either the hauptbahnhof or pasing (never would be in that) at midnight on New Years Eve. So, it's either a false alarm or the suicide bombers were really stupid. I was in Munich on New Years Eve, nothing much happened elsewhere

 

[NSEFAN]

While all the hand wringing about potential bombs was happening I see 3 people died in the railway in the morning of Jan 1st, and another few on the roads.


360 people were killed on the roads in July in France, yet I didn't see the wall-to-wall coverage like with November

People are just irrational. It's the same reason why a train crash killing one person will get more publicity than all those who died on the roads last year. Something which doesn't happen often attracts more attention than something which does.

 

[Haydn1971]

While all the hand wringing about potential bombs was happening I see 3 people died in the railway in the morning of Jan 1st, and another few on the roads. 360 people were killed on the roads in July in France, yet I didn't see the wall-to-wall coverage like with November

People killed on the road doesn't fit with the media mission to work with big business to justify further use of expensive weaponised technologies in the Middle East - paranoid perhaps, but the more the press push how dangerous the ISIS threat is, the more advertising space they sell to companies that profit from the continued war in that region. Simpler solutions are available, such as turning off the Internet access to that region and following the money trail - even if that means direct economic action against 1st world nations that help the money trail - ISIS have billions of dollars of assets, someone somewhere is looking after it !

 

[WestCoast]

it was new year in munich. There would not be large crowds in either the hauptbahnhof or pasing (never would be in that) at midnight on New Years Eve. So, it's either a false alarm or the suicide bombers were really stupid. I was in Munich on New Years Eve, nothing much happened elsewhere

I thought the same - large crowds at Pasing on New Years Eve? :?

Seemed all a bit bizarre, definitely not locals if they thought those locations would be busy.

 

[Groningen]

It is Pasing; not Passing. The terrorthreat came so late (22.00 hours), that many people ignore the warning. Question: if your returntrip to home is blocked by closing down the station? What do you do. Than you you better return to the party.

BTW; the main terrorthread comes from (or is) in Belgium. But just a few days ago Belgium has returned 2 old (40 years) nuclear reactor back for powersupply. Many in the Netherlands and Germany are not happy! Terror does not give you overdosis of radiation at least!