Around 2:20 p.m. on Saturday, the NB429 Caltrain northbound to San Francisco was stopped at the San Mateo station following reports of a suspicious package on the train car. The train and station were evacuated for over 45 minutes while police investigated the reports.

Within a half hour, Caltrain’s twitter announced that Transit Police were on the scene and its bomb squad was en route. Caltrain shut down service passing through San Mateo, stopping SB430 Caltrain southbound to San Jose at Millbrae.

In his first announcement regarding the suspicious package, the conductor of the NB429 train speculated whether the package was explosive, but further police inquiry revealed no threat to safety. An officer on the scene described the package as a grenaded-shaped drink resembling a pre-workout energy drink. A Caltrain employee also reported that the object had the word ‘grenade’ written on it, according to Stanford Politics.

Police have yet to confirm the package’s identity. There are several brands of energy drink that sell grenade shaped bottles; one in particular comes in camo green with the word ‘grenade’ written along the stem. This model resembles an actual grenade close enough to induce panic.

Train NB429 was cleared by Transit Police around 3:15 p.m., after which point trains resumed regular service with delays due to the incident.

This report will be updates as more details come to light.

 

Contact Cooper deNicola at cdenicol ‘at’ stanford.edu