Rail Service Disruption: WWII Bomb Found Near Berlin's Main Station

Train services to and from Berlin suffered delays and cancellations on Wednesday after a munitions experts set about defusing a 100-kilogram bomb from World War II found near the city's main train station.

The discovery of a World War II bomb near the main train station of Berlin disrupted rail services to and from the German capital on Wednesday.

"Travellers should be prepared for delays and route changes in long-distance services," a spokesman for rail operator Deutsche Bahn said.

A police spokesman said buildings in the vicinity of the bomb had already been evacuated in preparation for the disposal, which was likely to take place around noon. "At the moment we plan to defuse it by mechanically screwing out the detonator," the spokesman said.

Some 1,100 trains and up to 700,000 passengers pass through the modern station each day. It was opened in 2006.

The bomb was found by munitions experts conducting a routine search of a site in preparation of construction work. Unexploded bombs from the Allied bombardment of Germany during World War II are still frequently found. The munitions are getting more difficult and dangerous to defuse  because their fuse mechanisms have corroded and become less stable over time.

Bomb disposal experts have been warning that bombs will increasingly have to be exploded where they are found because moving them has become too risky. At least two such controlled explosions took place last year, in Munich  and Viersen,  causing damage to surrounding buildings.

cro -- with wire reports