MBTA officers to practice stepped-up searches today

By Globe Staff

Don’t worry, it is only a drill. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority says that commuters can expect to see more people getting their bags searched this morning.

It is a dry run for the authority’s new program of stepping up searches of riders’ bags when the mass transportation security threat level rises to orange. (Right now, it’s yellow, one level below.)

The MBTA Transit Police will get help with the stepped-up searches from workers from the US Transportation Security Administration, said Deputy Transit Police Chief John Martino.

“This shouldn’t alarm anyone. It’s just a standard exercise of existing plans so we will be prepared if a situation arises,” he said.

He said the searches might delay the average passenger “a minute or two. ... I don’t expect people will notice anything different,” he said.

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