Train traffic to and from Brussels South resumed after suspicious package found: “Inconvenience will continue for a while” | Region

A suspicious bag was found on a train at platform 20 at Brussels South station on Monday afternoon. All platforms were evacuated and all train traffic to and from Brussels South was completely disrupted for about an hour and a half. Most trains can now run again, although NMBS warns that the disruption will continue for a while. Delays and canceled trains remain possible. Train traffic was also completely stopped at the end of March after three suspicious packages were found in the Brussels South station. These later turned out to be harmless.

“Around half past one, a suspicious package was found on platform 20 in Brussels South. At the request of the security forces, all platforms were cleared. All domestic train traffic and the Eurostar have been stopped,” confirms Dimitri Temmerman, spokesperson for NMBS.

“It concerns a suspicious bag that was found on a train,” said An Berger, spokesperson for the federal police. “The train had to stop in Brussels South to investigate the suspicious bag. The train was completely evacuated and a perimeter was set up that is secured by the railway police and Securail.” DOVO arrived on site to further investigate the bag.

In the meantime, train traffic has largely resumed after about an hour and a half, although platforms 19 and 20 will remain closed for a while. These tracks are temporarily under military supervision. NMBS warns that the nuisance may continue for a while. Travelers must expect many delays and canceled trains. The most current information can be found via the NMBS app or on the information boards in the station.

About six weeks ago, on March 23, train traffic around Brussels South was also halted and the station was evacuated after three suspicious packages were found. One of those packages, a yellow-green plastic bag, was on the luggage rack of wagon 62107 of the train between Charleroi and Antwerp.

When the bag was discovered, the train was stopped at Brussels South station and the police cleared the station. Only after about three hours could the station be released. In total, trains were delayed by three hundred hours and the railway company NMBS canceled three hundred trains.