Suspicious Package on D.C Red Line Train Quickly Found to Be Harmless

[Ian David]

Suspicious Package on Train Quickly Found to Be Harmless

By Martin Weil and Elissa Silverman
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, September 10, 2007; Page B05

Last night, a few hours after thousands of football fans rode Metro to the Redskins game, at a time of heightened concern about security, a passenger on the Blue Line spotted it: a briefcase, unattended, on the train.

It was just the sort of thing that has caused dozens of delays, detours and evacuations across the Washington region. The disruptions have become part of Washington life, particularly since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the more recent bombings of European commuter trains. Some of the disruptions have lasted for hours, altering the routines of thousands.

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While the train was stopped in the station, it was necessary to detour only one train around it, Asato said.

The incident contrasted with last month's discovery of a suspicious package on a Red Line train that shut down three stations for about two hours. Passengers used 52 free shuttle buses.

More:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/09/AR2007090902243.html