Europe News

Russian railways to increase security after terrorist attacks

Mar 19, 2010, 13:04 GMT

Moscow - Russia's state rail company is to introduce body- scanners and X-ray machines for passengers in the wake of a succession of terror attacks against trains, Russian media reported Friday. Vladimir Yakunin, head of Russian state rail company RZD, said that in future passengers would be required to pass through metal detectors before boarding its trains. A terrorist attack on the luxury train Nevski Express killed 28 people and injured 90 others on a journey from Moscow to St Petersburg in November 2009. Until now, security checks on rail passengers are only carried out in exceptional circumstances, though they are common in many other areas of daily life, such as in cinemas, shopping centres and restaurants. The metal detectors had already been tried out in Chinese and European rail stations, Yakunin said. So-called 'naked' scanners such as those being introduced at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport were not part of the plan. 'We don't want to undress anyone,' Yahunin stressed. But the head of the Duma's security committee, Gennadi Gudkov, criticized the company's announcement, saying it was a 'typical example of bureaucratic absurdity.' Passengers would have to get to the station much earlier, he said. 'Often it isn't worth travelling by train any more.' Russian trains carry around 1.2 billion passengers a year.

Europe News

Russian railways to increase security after terrorist attacks

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