Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is strengthening security with new equipment and increased policing in the wake of the terrorist bombings that killed over 200 people on trains in Madrid last month.
Metro staff purchased $180,000 worth of equipment, including surveillance cameras, portable X-ray kits, incident-related communications tools, computer equipment, additional police protective gear and chemical weapon identifiers.
"We will use the additional equipment and technology to improve our ability to detect, respond to, and recover from potential threats and incidents of terrorism," said Metro CEO Richard A. White.
The purchases shouldn't affect the fare price, according to Metro spokesperson Lisa Farbstein.
Metro employs special response teams, similar to SWAT teams, which patrol stations with specially trained explosive detection canines and machine guns. These teams will be increasing the frequency of their station patrols and doing train to train and railcar to railcar patrols.
There will also be more police officers patrolling during rush hour.
"We want our customers to know that we have elevated our policing efforts, yet at the same time, we cannot make public everything we are doing because to do so could possibly put people at risk," said Metro Transit Police Chief Polly Hanson. "We take security extremely seriously."
Station restrooms have been closed to the public since March 19.
"After Sept. 11, 2001, we removed trash bins from our station platforms because they could potentially be used by someone to hide an explosive device," said Hanson.
"In carefully assessing the bombings in Madrid, it is obvious that closing our restrooms is a smart and logical step to further protect our customers and employees from possible terrorist acts."
Metro has increased public address announcements to customers, reminding them to be aware of any suspicious activity.
A campaign called "Excuse me, is that your bag?" has begun as an attempt to quickly find unattended items such as shopping bags, backpacks and duffle bags. Metro is asking both its employees and its customers to ask about the ownership of bags they see in stations.
"Ever since Sept. 11, Metro has built a strong security partnership with our customers," Hanson said. "We have asked our customers to be extra vigilant in keeping an eye open for unattended packages and suspicious activity, and report anything along those lines to Metro Transit Police or any Metro employee"
