Three men arrested as bus station evacuated over ‘potential suspicious item’

Three men have been arrested and a bus station evacuated as the bomb squad was called out to reports of a “potential suspicious item”.

Police Scotland said Buchanan Bus Station in Glasgow city centre was closed at around 1.10pm on Wednesday “following a report of a potential suspicious item”, with the Navy bomb squad alerted.

The force, which was still present at around 7.50pm on Wednesday evening, said: “Three men have been arrested in connection with the incident at Buchanan Bus Station in Glasgow, which was reported around 1.10pm today.

“EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) are at the scene and inquiries remain ongoing.”

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Large cordons have been put in place with streets around the bus station closed.

Police advised the public to avoid the area.

A number of transport services have experienced disruption as a result of the incident.

Bus operator Stagecoach’s Ayr-Glasgow X77 service, which terminates at Buchanan Bus Station, will now terminate in Hope Street in Glasgow.

On X, formerly Twitter, a stagecoach spokesperson said: “Due to the ongoing police incident in Glasgow City, our X77 service will be terminating at Hope Street and will be departing from Wellington Street until further notice.

“Thank you for your patience.”

Railway operator ScotRail has experienced similar issues, having shut down Glasgow Queen Street’s high level station until it is deemed safe to reopen.

On X, a spokesperson said: “Emergency services are dealing with an incident near to Glasgow Queen Street station.

“Until the police deem it safe to run trains again, no trains will run into and out of Glasgow Queen Street High Level.”

National Rail said disruption at the station would likely continue until 9.30pm, with cancellations and delays of up to 35 minutes to be expected.

National Rail said commuters should check their journeys through its National Rail Enquiries journey planner, and said passengers may be entitled to compensation.

A spokesperson said: “Emergency services are dealing with an incident near the railway at Glasgow Queen Street, meaning all lines are currently closed.

“Trains running to/from this station will be cancelled, delayed by up to 35 minutes or revised.”

They added: “You may be entitled to compensation if you experience a delay in completing your journey today.

“Please keep your train ticket and make a note of your journey, as both will be required to support any claim.”

The city’s inner and outer subway circles were both closed, but were later re-opened at around 9pm.

On X, a spokesperson said:  “Subway services on both Inner and Outer Circles have now resumed.

“Thank you for your patience, apologies for the inconvenience.”

Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) confirmed at around 8.30pm on Wednesday that the campus had been evacuated and closed as a precaution.

A spokesperson for GCU said: “Following direction from Police Scotland relating to the incident at Buchannan Bus Station, we evacuated our campus as a precaution this afternoon.

“We will be providing further updates to our staff and students in due course.”

A number of businesses in the area have also been affected. The Royal Concert Hall’s planned An Audience With Celtic Legends event was cancelled.

On X, a spokesperson for the venue said: “An Audience With Celtic Legends – Wednesday 20 November. Due to circumstances beyond our control, this evening’s event has been cancelled.

“All ticket holders will be contacted in due course. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.”