BRUSSELS, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Train traffic at Brussels-Midi, one of the Belgian capital's main railway stations, resumed gradually on Monday evening after the station was evacuated during rush hour following the discovery of three suspicious packages.
Belgium's national rail operator SNCB said in a statement that services were gradually returning to normal after the packages were found to be harmless, although delays and cancellations could continue until the end of the day.
Earlier on Monday, Belgian federal police said suspicious packages had been found at the station, prompting an evacuation and a security operation involving the defence ministry.
Police said they received information about the incident at around 5:20 p.m. local time and immediately took the necessary measures at the scene. Federal officers carried out checks together with Belgium's defence ministry. DOVO, the ministry's bomb disposal unit, was called in to examine the packages.
By around 7:45 p.m., all three packages had been found to be harmless, Belga news agency reported, citing sources in the federal police.
"Since 8:02 p.m., trains have been able to run again at Brussels-South, on all tracks except tracks 19 and 20," Belga quoted Belgian railway infrastructure manager Infrabel as saying. "The station has also been reopened." ■