Research into technologies capable of carrying out mass security screenings at rail and tube stations is being conducted by the Home Office.
The scanners would be used to search passengers for firearms, explosives, even Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRM) materials, without carrying out traditional check point bag searches.
The technology would be used to scan wheelchairs, prosthetics, crutches, pushchairs and bicycles, with scanning potentially carried out at the tops and bottoms of escalators, ticket barriers and platforms.
The Home Office brief for potential suppliers requires that any method would not “delay the passengers any more than they are currently as they pass through the station”. This follows initial trials of passenger screening technology in the wake of the July 7th terrorist attacks in 2005, which showed that passengers weren’t willing to accept the lengthy delays airport-style checks would create.
Formal bids are now being invited from suppliers.
