Suspicious device removed from rail tracks in Ballston
Updated 9:44 pm, Wednesday, April 11, 2018
State, local and federal police gathered Wednesday on Zepko Lane to investigate what looks to be a pipe bomb placed on the railroad tracks.
State, local and federal police gathered Wednesday on Zepko Lane to investigate what looks to be a pipe bomb placed on the railroad tracks.
State, local and federal police gathered Wednesday on Zepko Lane to investigate what looks to be a pipe bomb placed on the railroad tracks.
State, local and federal police gathered Wednesday on Zepko Lane to investigate what looks to be a pipe bomb placed on the railroad tracks.
BALLSTON — The suspicious device discovered Wednesday on railroad tracks in Saratoga County has been safely removed, the sheriff's office said.
A Canadian Pacific Railways maintenance worker noticed the device just before noon and called 911, Saratoga County Sheriff Michael Zurlo said. State, local and federal police soon gathered on Zepko Lane to investigate what appeared to be a pipe bomb placed on the tracks.
The device is described as a 3-foot PVC pipe with wires sticking out of it and possibly liquid inside, the sheriff said.
Officials from the sheriff's office, State Police, FBI and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives inspected the device and decided to call in a bomb squad from the Watervliet Arsenal.
The military unit deemed the device safe, and it was removed and sent to the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia, the sheriff said.
There are no homes in the immediate area but officials closed down the Zim Smith Trail, which is about 20 feet from the railroad bed. Police also halted all rail traffic in both directions, affecting service for Amtrak passenger trains and Canadian Pacific Railway freight.
Adirondack train 69, which was traveling northbound to Montreal, was delayed in Clifton Park, said Amtrak's spokesman Jason Abrams. The train eventually returned to the Schenectady Amtrak station and bused its 38 passengers to Montreal. Abrams said the passengers will arrive at their destination about two hours late.
Sheriff's deputies on all-terrain vehicles searched the immediate area, including a portion of the Zim Trail, as sheriff's dogs and Canadian Pacific police searched a larger swath of the railway.
"The safety and security of our residents is my primary concern," Sheriff Zurlo said in a statement. "This incident will be investigated thoroughly by my office with the help of our federal partners."
Anyone who saw suspicious activity near Zepko Lane is asked to call the Saratoga County Sheriff's Office at 518-885-6761.