New York's Penn Station evacuated after bomb scare

NEW YORK -- A bomb scare emptied the nation's busiest commuter rail station Sunday for about an hour, disrupting service on trains and subways.

The midday threat at Pennsylvania Station arose after someone threw a backpack at an Amtrak ticket agent and said it was a bomb, said Marissa Baldeo, a spokeswoman for New York City Transit.

It was a false alarm, and service on all lines was restored by early afternoon.

Amtrak spokeswoman Sarah Swain said railroad police had detained a man, but she did not know whether he had been arrested.

The incident came days after a second bombing attack in London, which prompted New York police to start random inspections of subway riders' bags.

Travelers seemed to take the disruption in stride.

Tim Allen, a Londoner headed from New York to Boston, said he endured similar false alarms at home recently. "This is the second time this has happened in two-and-a-half weeks to me," he said.

The service disruption affected Amtrak, the Long Island Rail Road, New Jersey Transit and some New York subway lines.

Also Sunday, a double-decker tourist bus was evacuated in midtown Manhattan after a bus company supervisor became suspicious of five male passengers with "stuffed" pockets. The supervisor called police, who handcuffed the men and searched about 60 passengers before determining there was no threat.