Train traffic in Belgium has resumed its normal course after a bomb scare in the Brussels-Midi station on Monday, 23 March 2026, which caused heavy disruptions. Once the suspicious packages found at the station turned out to be harmless, train traffic resumed gradually.
Around 5:20 pm on Monday, 23 March 2026, Belgian police evacuated the entire Brussel-Midi train station as well as its metro station. Two separate suspicious packages were reported, one on a train on platform 20 and one on platform 18. Later on, a third package was reportedly found.
🇧🇪 Belgique : La gare de Bruxelles-Midi a été évacuée vers 17h30 après la découverte de plusieurs colis suspects (dont un dans un train à la voie 20 et un sur le quai 18). Scènes de panique parmi les voyageurs.
— Geocrises FR (@geocrises) March 23, 2026
L’alerte a été levée vers 20h après vérification par le SEDEE : les… pic.twitter.com/7pQYCMYgpe
The packages were found by personnel from Belgium’s national rail operator SNCB. One of them was interviewed by the news agency VRT NWS, describing the bag as cylindrical. A phone was positioned on the bag, with wires attached to it. The package is also mentioned to be ‘explosive’ and ‘corrosive’. Given the suspicious circumstances, he decided to contact the police.
Once the stations were evacuated, federal police officers and Belgium’s defence ministry worked together to search the entire building. DOVO, the ministry’s bomb disposal unit, analysed the packages and concluded they were harmless.
Alerte à la bombe à la gare du midi de Bruxelles en Belgique pic.twitter.com/jvgXsDiIPv
— GENGIS KHAN 🇫🇷 🇮🇱 🌿 (@GENGIS9999) March 23, 2026
The discoveries not only led to a total evacuation of the two stations but also meant that a big part of Belgium’s train traffic came to a standstill. For about 1.5 hours, no trains were allowed to pass through the station. Afterwards, trains could travel through the station on platforms 3 to 13 and from approximately 8:00 pm, trains were once again allowed to depart from and stop at the station – only platforms 19 and 20 remained closed.
“The Brussels-Midi station has been reopened after a thorough inspection of suspicious packages. During the evening rush hour, the station was evacuated as a precaution and commuters were cleared out,” Interior Minister Bernard Quintin said on social media platform X.
With approximately one third of all Belgian trains going through the Brussels-Midi – Brussels-North axis, the incident led to many delays and cancellations. Moreover, Brussels-Midi functions as an important international hub for trains going to London, Amsterdam, Paris, and other European cities.
Ten years later
The timing of the bomb scare was particularly sensitive as the suspicious packages were found exactly ten years and one day after coordinated bomb attacks carried out by Islamic State militants killed 32 people at Brussels Airport and at the Maalbeek metro station, while survivors continue to live with the physical and psychological consequences of the events. On Sunday, 22 March 2026, Belgian King Philippe and some of the country’s top authorities were present during a ceremony at the metro station and the airport.
