NEW YORK, July 24 (Xinhuanet) -- Pennsylvania Station, a major train station in New York city, was evacuated and train service disrupted for about an hour on Sunday.

    The busy commuter hub was evacuated after someone threw a backpack at an Amtrak agent and said it was a bomb, said Marissa Baldeo, a spokeswoman for New York City Transit. The threat was a false alarm, and service on all lines was restored about an hour later.

    The incident came days after a second bombing attack in London,which prompted New York police to start random inspections of subway riders' bags.

    After evacuating Penn Station, police sealed the Eighth Avenue entrance with yellow tape and moved everyone across the avenue to the west side.

    The service disruption affected Amtrak, the Long Island Rail Road, New Jersey Transit and the Seventh and Eighth Avenue subway lines.

    The incident was over as quickly as it began. One minute, camouflage-clad soldiers were shouting, "Penn Station is closed indefinitely," and the next minute they got the all clear and started letting people into the station.

    New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Thursday following the latest attacks in London that police would begin conducting random searches of packages and backpacks carried by people entering the subways.   Enditem