Major travel problems are being experienced in Aberdeen as police deal with the discovery of a "suspicious package" near the city's rail station.
A suspicious package which caused major travel disruption in Aberdeen has been declared safe after being examined by army explosives experts.
The area was evacuated and trains to Aberdeen were terminating at Dyce and Stonehaven after the find by a member of public at Guild Street.
The area around the city's rail station was evacuated after a discovery by a member of the public at Guild Street.
Bomb disposal experts arrived at the scene, after the discovery at about 0600 GMT, and used a robot.
Trains to Aberdeen were terminating at Dyce and Stonehaven.
The train station later re-opened at about 1100 GMT.
Ch Insp George MacDonald of Grampian Police said: "The package has now been examined by army experts and there was no danger to the public."
Members of the public reported serious travel problems throughout the morning.
The discovery had been made at about 0600 GMT, and the resulting road closures led to major traffic delays.
Grampian Police said diversions had been put in place.
A robot was used to check the package.
Inquiry continues
Ch Insp MacDonald, who led the police operation, said: "Our first duty is to protect the public and we took appropriate steps to ensure public safety.
"We are continuing our investigations into how this package was placed on the bridge.
"The public should be reassured that we will carry out a thorough enquiry to trace those responsible."
Diversions were set up in Aberdeen city centre
Diversions were set up in Aberdeen city centre
A police spokesman said: "There is no immediate danger to the public and people should be reassured that we have taken appropriate action.
He added: "We appreciate this incident has caused disruption to the public and we would like to thank them for their cooperation.
"A number of traffic diversions are in place while we deal with this package.
"But we are sure that people understand that we took appropriate and proportionate action to ensure their safety.
"We would ask the public to co-operate with us and avoid the Guild Street area in the meantime and to follow the posted diversions."
"We are keen to talk to anyone who may have seen anything suspicious in the Guild Street area during the early hours of Thursday morning or have any other information which could assist our enquiry."
He added: "We understand that this will cause some problems for people trying to get to work, but the safety of the public is our priority and we are sure people appreciate this."
Streets surrounding Guild Street have re-opened, although Guild Street itself remained closed while officers continued an examination of the area.
Student concern
The train station re-opened at about 1100 GMT.
One man, from Aberdeenshire, who didn't want to be named, told the BBC Scotland news website: "I was on my way into work in Guild Street in Aberdeen when I received a phone call from my line manager, advising me not to travel into town due to a bomb scare at Aberdeen train station.
Concerns had been raised about the travel problems possibly affecting students sitting exams.
"ScotRail advised her that the bomb squad are being driven from Edinburgh so it appears to be a serious incident which won't be over any time soon."
A University of Aberdeen spokeswoman said: "As far as we are aware only one student who is sitting an exam at the university today has been affected by the situation.
Andrew McManus said: "The traffic around the area was extremely packed with cars, almost gridlocked at points. Police were directing traffic on top of the traffic signals.
"If any student is affected they are advised to notify the university immediately and we will take appropriate steps to ensure that they are not disadvantaged."
"I worry for students needing to use the train to get to university for exams.
"I was lucky enough to get driven in by my dad who works at the university, but I know people who could potentially fail exams because they cannot get here on time if this continues through the day."
Ronan Burke said: "I work in a building next to the train station. An officer told me there was a bomb scare. We have been instructed to stay away from windows facing north, onto the bridge."
Colin Esslemont said: "I was on one of the trains that came into Aberdeen this morning during the incident, the station was in a bit of chaos. They were advising everyone to leave the station."
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