A bomb threat at the main railway station in Spain's capital Madrid's turned out to be a hoax.

There were reports a man had threatened to blow himself up on a train there before passengers raised the alarm.

The station was evacuated as security officials searched the trains, however, police have now said the incident was a false alarm.

Police sources told Europa Press the backpack was found to only contain a bottle of water and no explosives.

The railway station was the scene of the terror bombings in 2004, which saw an al Qaeda-inspired terror cell target a packed morning commuter trains, killing 191 people and injuring 1,800.

Police say they're still investigating the full circumstances of what happened.