Cops with automatic weapons and bomb-sniffing dogs will patrol Amtrak trains and randomly search carry-on bags in a dramatic tightening of security to be announced Tuesday.

Although some riders were unhappy with the idea of guns on the trains, most welcomed the new security plan.

"I think it's good," said Yvette Davis, 23, an assistant shoe store manager from the Bronx, while waiting for a train in Penn Station. "You can never be too protective, especially with some of these crazy people."

"I think it's great," said Manhattan software salesman Dan Hurley, 39. "I've often wondered why there is so little security on trains. They could do as much damage as a plane."

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April Holder, 30, from Manhattan, said only, "Just don't make us late. New Yorkers hate being late."

Amtrak officials insist the security ramp-up won't make anyone late.

"We're very conscious of the fact that you're in an environment where commuters have minutes to go from train to train," said Bill Rooney, vice president for security strategy and special operations.

The new measures mark a significant shift for Amtrak, which, unlike the airlines, has had relatively little visible increase in security since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, making it attractive to passengers eager to avoid airport hassles.

But security concerns have been mounting since the 2004 bombings of commuter trains in Madrid that killed 191 people.

Amtrak's new "mobile security teams" will go into action soon on the Northeast Corridor between Washington and Boston, the railroad's most heavily used route.

Later they'll be expanded to the rest of the country.

Full article here.