ST. LOUIS—Metal detectors are coming to select MetroLink stations as part of a pilot program launched Wednesday by Metro Transit. The move comes just days after a 69-year-old man allegedly shot and killed a 21-year-old man following a verbal altercation while on a train heading to the Maplewood station.

The mobile metal detectors will be rotated through various stations in Missouri and Illinois. The pilot program is in partnership with St. Louis County Police, St. Louis Metropolitan Police and St. Clair County Police. Officers from those agencies will assist in staffing the metal detector checkpoints.

“We are constantly making security adjustments and upgrades so that our customers and team members feel safer on the system,” said Taulby Roach, President and CEO of Bi-State Development in a statement. 

Metro Transit also announced it will be spending up to $750,000 in overtime for three law enforcement partners to patrol trains and MetroLink platforms this summer as more riders are expected to use the transit system to attend sporting events, concerts and festivals.  There will be a focus on the downtown St. Louis corridor, according to officials.

Bi-State Development, the parent organization of Metro Transit, is making progress on its $52 million Secure Platform Plan that will create a closed access system with high security gates and fencing to limit access to platforms and trains to ticketed riders. Construction is expected to start next year on the first four stations. You can see what those gates and fencing look like here.