Manchester's Victoria Train Station was put in lockdown this morning after reports of two men carrying weapons.
People were evacuated from the busy city centre train station, which has trams going to Bury, and trains to Bolton.
The drama unfolded at 9.15 am after police received reports of the two men.
The response included a large presence of armed officers and is said to have lasted around half-an-hour.
A spokesperson for British Transport Police said: "Officers were called to Manchester Victoria station at 9.14am today (12 October) following reports of two men possibly carrying weapons on a train service.
"Armed police attended and conducted a full search of the train and area, however there was no trace of the two men.
"The report was made in good faith and enquiries are ongoing."
READ MORE: Live: Victoria Train Station on lockdown as 'armed police' spotted
On witness, Rado Chmiel, described what he saw as he arrived to catch a train to Liverpool Lime Street.
He said: "I have arrived to Victoria station a bit earlier for my train and wanted to sit down and do some remote work at the station's coffee. However, when I was just by the entrance to the station, I saw police cars arriving.
"First the PCs arrived, and then the armed squad followed less than two minutes later.
"I followed them to the station as I was curious what was going on. The squad went to the platforms 3, 4 and 5 and then the PCs told the staff to evacuate the station. We were all asked to leave and stayed in front of the entrance.
"I started to do the research on my own. I was checking Twitter and after my tweet there was a response from one of the passengers of train from Liverpool Lime Street to Newcastle, that this train was searched.
"The whole incident lasted for about 30 mins so luckily I was able to catch my train back to Liverpool.
"It was a bit scary, having in mind what happened in the arena few years back.
"I have nothing more but full respect to the station staff and police forces to keep the whole situation in a very cool and professional way. They ensure that everyone was safe and provided great service. Hats off to all involved."
If you have a story or something you would like to highlight in the community, please email me at lewis.finney@newsquest.co.uk or DM me on Twitter @lewisfinney18
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