(The New York Times posted the following article on its website on December 14.)
WASHINGTON — The Transportation Security Administration began a six-day pilot program this week to send security personnel to bus, train and subway stations in six cities, the agency said Wednesday. Some of the personnel are undercover federal air marshals.
Teams from the security agency went to Atlanta, Baltimore, Houston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Washington. A deployment to a ferry terminal in Seattle was postponed, a spokeswoman, Ann E. Davis, said.
Amtrak workers said a team with a bomb-sniffing dog toured Union Station in Washington. In Houston, Ms. Davis said, a team would survey a Greyhound bus terminal.
The operation, which began Tuesday, involves six teams of six or seven people each and was created to measure and improve the ability to send people and equipment to transportation hubs besides airports, Ms. Davis said.
Details of the operation were first reported Wednesday in The Washington Post.