(The Associated Press circulated the following article on March 14.)
ROCKVILLE, Md. — Authorities have given the “all clear” to reopen the Rockville Metro and Amtrak stations at about 7:30 p.m., but not before hundreds of rush-hour commuters were stranded and delayed for hours.
Several suspicious packages that were not accompanying a passenger have been cleared by the bomb squad and their owner, was identified, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesman Pete Piringer says.
The packages were on Amtrak train 29 on its way from Union Station in Washington to Chicago. Piringer says the owner was not on the train but he did not know why.
Several police and transit agencies are now working on getting evacuated passengers back on their trains, buses and routes.
The stations were closed at about 5:30 p.m.
MARC spokeswoman Holly Henderson says the incident affected five MARC trains and possibly up to 2,000 passengers.
Three trains were stuck at Union Station and two others were on the tracks east of Rockville, with the passengers still on them. Passengers on those trains should expect delays.