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Security crackdown on train passengers
Train Passengers Face Airport-Style Security The Government wants to security scan at least a quarter of all train passengers for explosives, knives and guns to protect railways and the London Underground from terrorists. The Home Office has published details of what it wants the scanners to detect and how they should work, and is asking for advice on the technology available. "The main focus is on the detection of explosives and weapons on people and in bags," the research brief states, suggesting that technologies including X-ray, magnetometry, vapour and trace methods, electromagnetic radiation and ultrasound could be used. The researchers also want to know whether wheelchairs, false limbs, crutches, pushchairs, and bikes could be scanned and whether so-called dirty bombs could be spotted. Crucially, the document insists the scanning must be done without holding anyone up. "Any screening methodologies proposed must not delay t...