A non-explosive device that emits a ticking sound was behind the closing of the Lindbergh Center station Thursday night, a MARTA spokesman told ajc.com Friday.
Officials described the object as an "anti-theft device" that was "non-life threatening."
MARTA rail service was suspended in both directions during that time because of the suspicious noise, officials said.
Around 10:40 p.m., a station agent heard the strange noise coming from a trash can in the station, MARTA spokesman Lyle Harris said.
MARTA officials suspended both north- and southbound services immediately, Harris said.
"It's just a precaution that they take when they hear or see anything suspicious," Harris said.
MARTA police and staffers began searching through the station to determine what was causing the sound. Emergency officials, including MARTA's bomb squad, Atlanta Police and the Atlanta Fire Department, also were called to the station.
"We take extraordinary measures every time," Harris said.
Meanwhile, officials enacted so-called bus bridges, shuttle buses to ferry passengers past the station until it reopened, which happened around 1:30 a.m.
MARTA's headquarters is adjacent to the Lindbergh station.
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