A suspected explosive device brought rail traffic to a standstill in a region of southern Germany on Thursday.
Special police forces examined the object discovered by a technician on the track bed at the entrance to Treuchtlingen railway station, in Franconia south of Nuremberg.
A federal police bomb disposal team is examining the object to determine whether it poses a genuine threat.
The Middle Franconia police headquarters said the object had been X-rayed but the analysis of the X-ray images was still ongoing.
"The suspicion of explosives has not yet been ruled out," it said, adding that further examination by specialist forces was required.
The state police said cordons would remain in place for now. They could not say when road and rail traffic would resume.
Several regional railway services are affected, according to the rail operator. Replacement services were being offered by bus and in large-capacity taxis. Long-distance trains were being rerouted to avoid the area.
Emergency services were also "evacuating a number of buildings in the immediate vicinity as a precaution," according to a police statement.
Treuchtlingen has around 13,000 inhabitants and is situated between Nuremberg and Ingolstadt. The town was once an important railway junction, although the high-speed line connecting Munich and Nuremberg runs further east and is not affected.