NEW YORK (WCBS/CNN) - Some passengers entering Penn Station were met by Amtrak police using state-of-the-art equipment to scan them for explosive devices as they walked by.
"It was a little nerve-racking not knowing what was going on,” said Dan Costello who was traveling. “If it keeps everybody safer then I'm fine with it."
Amtrak is partnering with the Transportation Security Administration to test two devices called standoff explosive detection units.
One is mounted on a tripod while the other is mounted inside a trunk.
The machines scan for concealed explosive devices like a suicide vest without having to stop individuals.
Terror suspect, Akayed Ullah, wore a suicide vest when he attempted to blow himself up near Port Authority Station last December.
"This technology would have been effective and would have identified the suicide bomber who was at Port Authority," said Lisa Farbstein of TSA.
TSA used decoys Tuesday to show how the technology works.
Both scanners use what's called Millimeter Wave Technology, not radiation which detects anything metallic or non-metallic blocking normal human emissions.
The scanner can point in different directions by using a joystick.
A vertical bar is positioned on a person's torso, the bar turns red when a questionable device is detected.
Using the trunk scanner, a decoy walking down the stairs, appears as a green ghost on the monitor.
A dark spot indicates a potentially dangerous device.
Amtrak will test the devices at Penn Station for a week.
If Amtrak decides to purchase the technology, the scanners would be operated by its employees, not by TSA.
"We're going to do everything we can to look at it, to analyze it, make sure it's the best thing for us and our customers as well," said Jason Abrams of Amtrak.
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