Railway TicketBomb Detector Success

The Baltimore Rail Security Study tested and collected data from the Cubic and GE explosives-detecting ticket vending machine, the Early Warning Explosives Detection System (EWEDS), deployed in a Baltimore Maryland Transit dministration (MTA) subway station throughout the month of June.This pilot focused on the system’s ability to identify the possible presence of explosives compounds on passengers as they purchased tickets prior to passing through the faregates to board trains.The study was a cooperative effort of the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology unit, the MTA and the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT), with technical support provided by Cubic and GE Security.“The pilot appears to have met expectations and we were able to collect all the data needed in a shorter than planned test period,” said Earl Lewis, assistant secretary, Maryland Department of Transportation.“While the formal results aren’t in yet, the information gathered during this first-of-its-kind pilot appear to be good enough to take this potentially useful technology further along the commercialization testing path.”The Cubic and GE Early Warning Explosives Detection System is designed to detect explosives residue on passengers as they select their ticket before boarding a train.If such residue is detected, the system activates further capabilities to alert security or law enforcement authorities of the potential threat and deny the passenger passage through the faregates or turnstiles.In the study, passengers who activated the explosives detection systemwere identified for further screening.