OREANDA-NEWS. April 07, 2011. As part of a comprehensive programme to ensure public safety in transport, the Directorate of Railway Stations, a branch of Russian Railways, has launched a pilot project to begin inspection procedures for passengers and luggage on high-speed services between Moscow and St. Petersburg, reported the press-centre of Russian Railways.

Moscow’s Leningrad Station has installed pavilions with special equipment to allow for non-contact inspection of baggage and hand luggage at platform entrances and exits where passengers board and alight from the Sapsan high-speed trains.

The screening equipment includes:
radiation monitoring equipment with video surveillance,
stationary multiband metal detectors,
portable devices for detecting vapours from explosives,
portable X-ray machines and TV devices,
a stationary conveyor scanning unit for inspecting baggage,
manual metal detectors.

During the pilot phase of the project, random inspections will be carried out.

A similar inspection zone will begin operations at Moscow Station in Saint Petersburg on 6 April 2011.

In connection with the new inspection procedures, the Directorate of Railway Stations requests passengers using the Sapsan high-speed train to arrive at the stations in Moscow and St. Petersburg in good time.