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Hi-tech security systems tested on London rail(Newsletter)BODY-IMAGING scanners or sophisticated CCTV which can automatically spot suspicious behaviour could be introduced on parts of the rail and Tube networks to combat the threat of suicide terrorists. Both hi-tech systems are being tested as part of a range of measures designed to reduce the chances of a repeat of the London bombings, said Transport Secretary Alistair Darling. A millimetre wave scanner which can screen for concealed weapons and detect traces of explosives will be tried on the Heathrow Express at Paddington station in west London in the New Year. Mr Darling said the "intelligent" CCTV technology - programmed to alarm when it spots unusual behaviour - was being tested but he refused to reveal exactly where. London Underground said the tests were not being carried out on the Tube network but a spokesman confirmed that a pilot scheme to be introduced on the New York metro would be watched with interest. Chief operating officer Michael Brown said that the number of CCTV cameras on the Tube would be doubled to 12,000 in the next five years and that all would be updated to incorporate digital technology. Mr Darling said that security on the rail and Underground networks could never be as tight as it was at airports because they would grind to a halt. The Underground alone has one billion passengers a year, compared to 67 million at Heathrow. He said that, if the new technology proved to be successful, it could be rolled out on a "selective basis" on rail or Tube lines where there was particular concern about the risk of a terrorist strike. "You can't replicate on the railways or the London Underground what you do at airports, where you have a sealed system," he said. "If you go to airports, everybody goes through the screening - your luggage is screened, all the staff, everybody going airside gets screened. "If you look at it this way: Heathrow Airport is the busiest airport in the world; Waterloo station carries about four times as many passengers every single day; three million people a day use the London Underground system. "You just simply couldn't have people queuing up for hours to get through - you would be doing the terrorists' job for them. "What you can do is ask yourself whether, on a selective basis, at a point where it is appropriate, it could help to make things safer and reduce the risk." However, the biggest rail workers' union said the Government "spin" about transport security should be matched with action. Despite ministerial pledges to improve safety, the reality was one of threats to axe fire-safety regulations, cuts in frontline safety-critical staff and resistance by privatised employers to discuss security with transport unions, said the Rail Maritime and Transport union. Another measure which could be introduced is baggage reconciliation, which involves rail and Tube staff asking passengers to account for any suspect items of luggage. The number of British Transport Police officers on the Tube has already been increased and more sniffer dogs are being used to improve safety. Hundreds of Tube staff are being moved out of ticket offices and on to platforms, where they could more easily spot suspicious behaviour. The trial of the body scanner will begin in the New Year. Randomly-chosen passengers will be asked to take part in the tests over four weeks. |