Pedestrians flood the downtown core after a suspicious package was found at Berri-UQAM metro. (Corinne Smith/CBC)

Montreal's downtown core was paralyzed for more than three hours Thursday afternoon after police were called to a bomb threat in the city's biggest subway station.

The incident occurred shortly after 5:15 p.m. ET when a man told a transit operator he had a bomb in his suitcase. He then dropped the suitcase and ran away, officials told Radio-Canada.

A police bomb squad was called in and officers blew up the suspicious suitcase shortly after 8 p.m.

Officials said the suitcase did not contain a bomb.

During the police investigation, transit officials closed numerous metro stations for more than three hours. Metro service was interrupted on the orange line from Beaubien to Bonaventure, on the green line from Frontenac to Atwater, and on the entire yellow line.

The metro reopened at about 9 p.m. ET.

During the shutdown, thousands of people took to the streets, fighting over taxis and carpooling with strangers to get home.

Lineups at bus stops extended for blocks.