Federal pilot project in Edmonton to detect explosives in transit systems

 The ticket validating machines in Churchill LRT station will soon serve an additional purpose to stamping passes – starting next week they will also scan passengers for explosive devices.

Over the next three weeks, the station will be used by the federal government to test new technology that detects radioactive material and explosives on transit systems.

“We are proud to be hosting a federal pilot project that has the potential to enhance public safety in Edmonton, on transit systems across Canada and around the world,” said Director of ETS Operational Support Ron Gabruck in a conference.

In this project there will be five sensors installed to scan the air for radioactive material and four ticket validating machines will be checking for explosives through a polymer coating device on transit passes.

If something is detected a signal is sent to transit security operations and a photo is taken of the passenger.

Although this is only the pilot, Director General of Defense R&D Canada Centre for Security Science, Anthony Ashley says this technology has the potential to become normal security measures.

“I think it’s the federal government’s responsibility to take care of its citizens, so it’s up to us to understand what those threats and risks are,” he said.

Ashley said this will the first time this technology has been tested in an operational transit environment.

“We want to see how the technology works without impeding the passenger flow or ETS service,” Gabruck said.

Scheduled mock tests will be run, which will involve staff carrying harmless amounts of explosives and radioactive material through the station to test the accuracy of the equipment and how security operations are conducted.

Gabruck said the detectors are safe and that the project doesn’t reflect any threat to Edmonton or the LRT transit system.

The federal government has invested almost 2-million dollars into this initiative and has been working with private industry in Canada and the U.S. in the development of the equipment. 

With files from Vinesh Pratap.