Security Checks Friday for MARC Commuter Train Stations

If you commute using Maryland’s MARC commuter trains, you’ll notice increased security on Friday. The Maryland Transit Administration Police will launch a program of random security checks at MARC commuter train stations, using bomb-sniffing dogs to screen passengers’ luggage and packages to detect explosives.

The MTA warned riders that delays could occur and urged passengers to allow extra time to board trains on the Penn, Camden and Brunswick lines.

Lt. Col. John E. Gavrilis, chief of the MTA police, said the tighter security is not a response to a specific threat but part of a general effort to “target-harden” Maryland transit facilities. He said the effort will begin at MARC stations but would eventually extend to the Baltimore Metro and light rail stations.

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MTA Considers Audio Surveillance On Trains, Buses

The Maryland Transit Administration is considering installing audio surveillance equipment on its buses and trains to record conversations of passengers and employees, according to a letter sent by the MTA’s top official to the state Attorney General’s Office.

The letter, reported by the Maryland Politics Watch blog, seeks legal guidance on whether installing such equipment would violate Maryland’s anti-wiretapping law. In his letter, MTA Administrator Paul J. Wiedefeld notes that the MTA already uses video cameras for security aboard its vehicles.

“As part of MTA’s ongoing efforts to deter criminal activity and mitigate other dangerous situations on board its vehicles, Agency management has considered adding audio recording equipment to the video recording technology now in use throughout its fleet,” Wiedefeld wrote.

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Detonated Blasting Cap Found On Tracks Near Train Station

Wenham Mass. Kids looking for rocks along the train tracks yesterday made a puzzling discovery: a detonated blasting cap on the tracks near the commuter rail station.

The discovery temporarily shut down a section of the parking lot near the Shoppes at Hamilton Crossing and police made a passing train continue to the Ipswich station without stopping.

Police Sgt. Jeffrey Tobey said there was no evidence of any explosive material on the tracks or else they would have shut down the Newburyport line.

In fact, the detonated blasting cap wasn’t even on the tracks anymore.

Tobey said the two kids brought their discovery to the Hamilton police station down the road.

Hamilton police contacted MBTA police who are now working with the FBI on an investigation, Tobey said.

via Detonated blasting cap found on tracks near train station – SalemNews.com, Salem, MA.

Suspicious Package On Train in North Bergen Was ‘Electronic Device’

UPDATE: A suspicious packae on a CSX train in North Bergen contained an electronic device that bomb squad officers blasted with a water cannon, and authorities are still trying to determine what it is.

The woman form Florida who called police this morning and said a bomb was on the train later said it was just a hoax, though the bomb squad kept searching the train until they found the package she referred to. Read more