(The Newark Star-Ledger posted the following story by Jeff Diamant on its website on May 21.)
NEW YORK — Portions of Penn Station were evacuated and midday travelers faced delays of up to three hours yesterday while authorities investigated a suspicious package that a man was carrying aboard a Washington-to-Boston Amtrak train.
Nothing questionable was found in the package and rail service resumed shortly after 3 p.m., Amtrak spokesman Cliff Black said.
The man was detained for questioning and then charged with immigration violations, said Mark Thorn, spokesman for the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The man’s name and nationality were not being released.
The investigation began at 12:18 p.m. when Train 174 from Washington, D.C., arrived at Penn Station. Amtrak police had been alerted that “a suspicious person with a suspicious package” was aboard, Black said.
A bomb-sniffing dog was taken through the train and indicated it found something of interest in the man’s possessions, said authorities, who ordered the evacuation of Track 10, the platform where the train arrived, and the level above it.
All service on NJ Transit, Amtrak and Long Island Rail Road trains through Penn Station was halted during the investigation.
Instead of waiting, many stranded passengers ended up at the Port Authority terminal, where they boarded buses for home.
The delays also affected scores of passengers at Newark Penn Station. About two dozen Amtrak trains and about six NJ Transit trains were delayed, officials said.
NJ Transit officials diverted some trains bound for Manhattan’s Penn Station to Hoboken, where passengers were able to board PATH trains, said NJ Transit spokesman Ken Hitchner.