(The Associated Press circulated the following article on November 8.)
DEPEW, N.Y. — A federal pilot program brings increased security to the Amtrak station in Depew in western New York.
Dozens of Amtrak passengers were sniffed’ for explosives residue yesterday before they boarded trains at the Depew rail station. Transportation Security Administration officers, armed with four Sabre 4000 portable detection units, screened random passengers.
In the 30-second screenings, TSA officers wipe down passengers’ carry-on luggage with a special cloth to collect any traces of explosives. The cloth swatch is fed into a hand-held detection device for analysis.
The Sabre 4000 units are on loan from TSA headquarters to the Buffalo region through the end of the month. They’re similar in size and shape to a hand-held vacuum cleaner.
The TSA also has brought in two dog teams as part of the explosives-detection program.