Intercity, Commuter Rail Passengers Now Screened for Explosives at TSA Test Site
By Ron Thaniel
May 10, 2004
At a suburban Washington (DC) Maryland station, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) began a pilot program May 4 known as the Transit and Rail Inspection Pilot (TRIP) designed to screen intercity and commuter rail passengers for explosives.
The 30-day $1 million pilot at the New Carrollton Amtrak and Maryland Rail Commuter (MARC) station will evaluate the use of emerging technologies to determine whether it is feasible to screen rail passengers for explosives by having the passenger walk through a high-tech "sniffer" that checks them for bomb residue.
Passengers will be asked to walk through a portal. In the portal they will stand still for 12 seconds and will feel several quick "puffs" of air. A sensor in the ceiling of the portal "sniffs" for trace particles of explosives.
Because the pilot program focuses on explosives, passengers will not be asked to take off their shoes or remove metal objects from their pockets.
In addition to the screening machines, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) will have canine teams conducting random explosive screening of public transit users at that location.
Senate Bill Would Require Additional Screening Test Locations
In April, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee approved The Rail Security Act of 2004 (S.2273) which would require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including the TSA, and the Department of Transportation to complete a pilot program of random security screening of passengers and baggage at 5 geographically diverse passenger rail stations served by Amtrak.
The pilot would test a wide range of explosive detection technologies, devices and methods, and require that intercity rail passengers produce government-issued photographic identification, which matches the name on the passenger's tickets prior to boarding trains.
When full Senate action on S.2273 will transpire is unclear.
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