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MARC commuter train passengers soon will need to give themselves extra time to board their trains, as random security screenings start Friday.

Federal air marshals will be conducting the screenings initially to train Maryland Transit Administration police in screening techniques and in using the equipment, said MTA police Maj. Fred Damron.

The new security procedure is part of a $3 million grant over three years from the federal Transportation Security Administration.

Passengers will not know in advance the stations and times of the security screenings, Damron said.

Under the plan, passengers potentially can have their bags and luggage checked by police.

The new security procedures have been in the works for some time and were not part of any new intelligence about terrorist threats, Damron said.

Passengers should plan to arrive five to 10 minutes earlier each day to catch their train on the chance their station has been selected for one of the random checkpoint screenings, he said.

As to the effectiveness of random searches, Gary D. LaFree, director of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism at the University of Maryland, said there is no empirical evidence as to whether screenings work as a deterrent.

"Probably the true answer is we don't know if it works," LaFree said.

Trains have virtually no protection in the United States, while subway and bus systems have minimal protection, he said.

Security issues have to be balanced with the inconvenience to riders as well as the loss of privacy from having a bag searched, LaFree said, adding that for citizens it's a "trade-off."

"Public officials are in a tough position," he said.