Dorothy Rowley, The Examiner
2008-02-20 08:00:00.0
Current rank: Not ranked

BALTIMORE -

Beginning this week, travel by Amtrak in the Baltimore area could involve security screening for passengers along in the Northeast Corridor.

On any given day, about 70,000 people board the trains and about half of them use the corridor that extends from D.C. to Boston, said Amtrak spokeswoman Tracy Connell. She said, however, that randomly selected passengers’ baggage will be screened as part of the system’s latest fight against terrorism.

Connell said Amtrak officials have decided to add more visible security, including officers with automatic weapons and bomb-sniffing dogs, to patrol platforms and trains.

“There will be security teams and they will show up at the stations in the Northeast Corridors,” Connell said. “As passengers begin to board their trains, some will be randomly selected to have their baggage screened.”

The screenings would involve customers placing their bags on a table where an officer then swabs the bags’ exterior. Afterward, the swab is placed in explosive detection devices. If there are no signs of residue, the passenger will move on to their trains, Connell said.

Connell added that because the random nature of the screenings, no public schedules will be posted as to when they might occur.

“That will make them unpredictable, serving as a deterrent to passengers to bring on any explosive devices,” Connell said. “The whole process will take less than a minute.”

Amtrak spokesman Cliff Black, chief of corporate communications, said that shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, several new security measures were implemented along the rails — some of which are not visible.

He declined to say if Baltimore’s Penn Station would be included among the screening sites. “But there’s a chance it will,” Black said.

He said that overall, officials wanted to ensure passengers understand the beefed-up security won’t interfere with their travel patterns.

“We were careful not to delay our passengers trains,” Black said. “Although the added security will be noticeable to passengers, it won’t delay them or their trains.”

Amtrak passenger Thomas McGill, of Philadelphia, said he won’t be bothered by the screenings.

“[The screenings] shouldn’t create any problems for honest people,” he said. “I support whatever’s going to make my travel safer.”

drowley@baltimoreexaminer.com