Dutch police clear train as man locks himself in toilet

A anti-terrorist unit of the Dutch police carry a man who locked himself in a toilet of a Thalys high-speed train heading for Paris, in Rotterdam central station, Netherlands. Peter Dejong / AP Photo

ROTTERDAM // Police in the Netherlands evacuated a Thalys high-speed train headed for Paris early Friday after a man locked himself in a toilet.

Rotterdam police said that the train and several platforms at Rotterdam Central station have been cleared and negotiators were in contact with the man. No further information on the man was immediately available.

Thalys said in a tweet that, “Security forces have situation under control. No risk for our passengers.”

The incident comes less than a month after passengers subdued a gunman on board a Thalys train in northern France as it was travelling from Amsterdam to Paris.

Dutch television pictures showed heavily armed police with protective shields and equipment scanning the train cars from the platform.

Last week, European rail operators met with interior and justice ministry officials to discuss whether to beef up train security in the European Union.

The consensus from those talks was that no disproportionate and costly security action should be taken that would hinder high-speed international rail traffic in the European Union.

This means it is unlikely that metal detectors would be installed in European stations and that passenger information would not be systematically collected.

* Associated Press