Blue lights as far as the eye can see: The police evacuated Linz’s main station in a major operation on Tuesday afternoon around 3 p.m. “A large area will be cordoned off,” the state police confirmed to the “Krone”. The result was traffic chaos. Two and a half hours later the good news came: everything is clear!
In the afternoon, Linz main station is an absolute hotspot for working people, pupils and students who want to go home. There was great excitement: the building was cleared by the police on Tuesday around 3 p.m. The reason was a bomb threat received by the Upper Austrian State Police via email.
The adjacent State Service Center (LDZ) was also evacuated; 1,800 to 1,900 people had to leave the building, most of them state officials working in the LDZ. “Anyone who has taken all their belongings with them can go home. Buses will be organized for the other colleagues,” says Thomas Schäffer, director of the state agency.
Large-scale police barrier set up
A large police barrier was set up around the train station in the capital. The director sent the stranded travelers to the nearby Volksgarten.
Passengers who were initially still in the station area were warned by the digital displays: “Alarm. Please leave the building immediately,” it said.
Traffic chaos in Linz
The large-scale operation had serious consequences for busy afternoon traffic; people in Linz had to prepare for significant delays in the city center and especially around the train station.
There was also nothing wrong on the railway, to or through Linz: “Train traffic has been temporarily stopped,” the ÖBB said on Tuesday afternoon. This also affected trains along the western route, which would run between Salzburg and Vienna via Linz.
Police were searching for the threatened bomb late Tuesday afternoon before the go-ahead was given at 5:30 p.m.: no explosive was found, train traffic resumed and the streets reopened. It is not yet possible to predict when the trains will run according to plan again. It wasn’t until Monday that a bomb threat was received at Graz train station.
Source: Krone
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