Photo by lorigoldberg.

Although you can expect to experience a heightened security presence inside Metrorail stations this weekend, the system is not a target of the “specific, credible” threat which federal officials briefed local leaders about last night. The Examiner reports that while there will be an uptick in uniformed Transit Police officers and bomb-sniffing dogs around the system, those efforts were planned well in advance of the threat.

There is “no specific or credible threat” against the Metro system, Metro spokesman Dan Stessel said Friday morning.

The transit agency had been stepping up efforts in advance of the anniversary that falls on Sunday, Stessel said. That includes more patrols by Metro Transit Police and other cooperating local agencies, plus measures that riders cannot see, he said.

We’re reading that to mean that it’s very possible that the transit agency will be ramping up the frequency of those controversial bag checks over the weekend, despite their questionable effectiveness.