France’s state-run SNCF railway found a suspected bomb half-buried on the main line between Paris and the Swiss city of Basle on Wednesday, the Interior Ministry said.
It said in a statement that the device, discovered near the city of Troyes about 90 miles southeast of the French capital, had been made safe by bomb disposal experts.
The statement did not say who was suspected of planting the device but said it did not resemble one left by a shadowy group calling itself AZF, which is demanding cash and threatening to blow up part of the track.
No mention was made in the statement of any Islamic threat.