TSA to start passenger rail screening pilot

Railway Age, May, 2004

The Transportation Security Administration will begin screening Amtrak and MARC commuter rail riders and their baggage at the New Carrollton, Md., train station this month. The goal of the $1 million pilot project funded by the Department of Homeland Security is to determine the feasibility of screening technologies and their impact on the rail systems, TSA spokesperson Darrin Kayser told Railway Age in late April. The agency is looking at baggage and walkthrough passenger screening, and canine units, but Kayser said it was "too early" to tell what method will be used. The pilot's first phase will last 30 days, with a possible extension to 60 or 90 days.

The station was chosen for its proximity to Washington, D.C.--a location where TSA, Amtrak, and MARC have "resources that we can leverage," Kayser said--and because "it's indicative of what we face nationwide since it's an open-air station." Expanding screening to other locations will be determined once data from the pilot is studied, Kayser added.