BRUSSELS, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- A man armed with a knife was neutralized by police at a railway station in western Belgian city of Ghent on Tuesday night, local media reported.

The Ghent section of East Flanders' prosecutor office confirmed that railroad police opened fire at the man in possession of a knife at the Ghent-Saint-Pierre station.

The suspect, seriously injured, was taken to hospital.

The main entrance to the station was closed, but the secondary entrance is open, Belgian national railway said on its Twitter, adding that train traffic will remained unchanged.

Authorities have referred it as a "serious incident', according to local newspaper Het Nieuwsblad.

The incident happened a day after Belgium downgraded its terrorist threat level from three to two, on a maximum scale of four.