According to The Berkeley Scanner, a call to Berkeley police about a suspicious circumstance at the Amtrak station came in at 4:48 p.m. Wednesday, setting off an hours-long scramble that stopped a Capitol Corridor train in its tracks and brought a bomb team to the scene. By 6:30 p.m., two people had been detained as authorities worked to sort out what had been left behind.
Berkeley police said passengers had left luggage or other items on the train, prompting the concern, according to The Berkeley Scanner. Amtrak confirmed to the outlet that authorities were examining unattended luggage. The later account said the bags were X-rayed and no public-safety threat was found.
Capitol Corridor Train 540 was stopped in Berkeley at 5:06 p.m., according to The Berkeley Scanner. KRON4 reported that Berkeley police responded to an Amtrak request about the package just before 5 p.m. and that the department’s bomb team also went to the scene.
Rail Traffic Frozen While Crews Investigated
Train traffic through Berkeley was halted during the investigation, The Berkeley Scanner reported. The interruption affected movement through the city’s rail corridor while authorities checked the bags.
The Berkeley Amtrak station is at 700 University Avenue, beneath the University Avenue overpass just west of Fourth Street, according to The Berkeley Scanner. Berkeley police said on X that Frontage Road was closed between University Avenue and Gilman Street; further details about the closure were not immediately available.
Regional and local connections
Caltrans describes Capitol Corridor as connecting the San Francisco Bay Area with the Sacramento Valley. For local connections, Capitol Corridor lists AC Transit routes 51B and 802 at or near the Berkeley station. Route 51B connects with UC Berkeley and the Downtown Berkeley and Rockridge BART stations; route 802 connects with 19th Station BART.
Two Detained as Investigation Continued
As of 6:30 p.m., two people had been detained in connection with the incident, per the same outlet's reporting. It remains unclear what led investigators to detain those individuals or what, if any, further action followed. KRON4's own reporting, citing Berkeley police, described the threat as impacting Amtrak Capitol Corridor 540.
The later update resolved the immediate safety question: authorities found no public-safety threat after X-raying the bags.
