Land transportation and border securityTrains to pass through X-ray at Turkey-Iran border gate

Turkey’s first radiography-based screening system for freight and passenger trains will be installed at the Kapıköy border gate in the eastern Anatolian province of Van. The scanner will help detect illicit freight placed in passenger baggage and brought onto the cars of transit trains. The Turkish Directorate General of Customs Control has launched the scanner system project as part of its broader project to fight illicit trade. As part of the project, the directorate has also purchased other modern equipment, including vehicle and container screening devices. It is now readying itself to introduce the radiography-based screening system for freight and passenger trains as well. The radiography-based vehicle scanner system in Kapıköy, Turkey’s border gate to Iran, will become operational in 2009. The European Union is funding the project. There are three types of screening system for trains in the world: The X-ray scanner, the gamma ray scanner, and Betatron technology. It is not clear yet which of these technologies will be installed at the Kapıköy border gate. The call for bids on the project is set to be held at the end of the year, officials said.

The technology of the new radiography scanner system for the inspection of freight and passenger trains is similar to the design of baggage, cargo, vehicle, and container scanner systems, according to information provided by officials. As trains approach Kapıköy, they will undergo radiography scanning once they are traveling at a stable speed, generally 30 kilometers per hour, after regular security precautions have been taken to protect passengers and train personnel. With rapid and adequate infiltration of radiographs through the train, all cargo and goods in it will be displayed on monitors at the station. Turkish officials say that thanks to the system, passengers will no longer wait for hours for luggage control at the border gate.