World’s fastest train scanner unveiled

The world’s fastest train scanner has been unveiled in the port of Rotterdam. The new hi-tech Train Scan is capable of scanning trains travelling at twice the speed of similar devices. It can take good quality images of the contents of containers at speeds of up to 60km per hour – current devices in other countries work with a maximum speed of 30km per hour.

Customs officers select the containers they wish to inspect on the basis of risk analysis.

This X-ray scan is intended for container trains coming from the European hinterland via the existing Betuwe all-freight railway line to the port of Rotterdam, where the containers are transferred to ships for export out of the EU by sea.

When the Train Scan has been fully integrated with the customs procedures, a container will only be removed from the logistics chain when an analysis of the scan gives rise to concern.

Meanwhile, Immigration Minister Damian Green last week announced that every passenger on non-European Economic Area (EEA) flights travelling to the UK will have their details checked using the e-Borders system.

Outlining how the new Border Force will operate following its separation from the UK Border Agency, the minister said there will be clear rules into the correct level of checks for every type of passenger and all types of goods that cross the UK border.

In addition, he said the e-Borders system will be rolled out even further to cover 100 per cent of non-EEA flights by next month.

The e-Borders programme collects and analyses information on passengers and crew intending to travel to or from the UK before they travel.

Speaking at the Royal United Services Institute, he said: “A safe and secure border means not just better immigration control, but safer streets and more secure citizens. There can be no compromises on border security. In a dangerous world, our border is one of our main protections.”

In 2011, 2.6 million UK visa applications were made and there were around 200 million passenger journeys across UK borders. Five hundred million tonnes of freight passed through seaports.

The minister said: “[e-Borders] combined with our strict visa regime means that all non-EEA arriving from outside Europe will have been checked once, and many twice, while they are still thousands of miles from our passport controls. That means better protection than ever before and a stronger border.”

He added that border security means ensuring officials are in “the right place at the right time” armed with information to prevent potential threats from accessing the country’s borders.

Mr Green also said that the Government would collaborate with other governments, trade groups and airlines to expand e-Borders coverage. The aim was to give the UK a security system that is “genuinely secure, fluid and complete”.