Firefighters responded to smoke in the tunnel of the CTA's Red Line at 608 S. State St. this morning.
The call came in around 7:30 a.m., according to fire officials, who said they had been told by the CTA the smoke may have been caused by a blown fuse. The scene was secured at 7:45 a.m., according to Fire Department spokesman Kevin MacGregor. No one was taken to hospitals.
A northbound Red Line train experienced a mechanical problem at Harrison and riders reported a smell of smoke, said Kim Myles, a spokeswoman for the CTA.
Northbound Red Line subway trains were being rerouted to the elevated tracks between Cermak-Chinatown and Fullerton as of about 8:20 a.m., but southbound trains were operating normally, Myles said.
As her train pulled into the Harrison station, passengers panicked as they saw smoke, said passenger Melody Cowan, 16. "It was a blue flash and you just heard a boom," she said. "Then everyone was running for the back of the train."
In their rush to get out of the train, some passengers walked over a woman who had fallen on the platform, Cowan said. The frightened passengers ran up the steps to Polk Street, she said.
Police blocked off State Street to traffic between Harrison Street and Balbo Drive, although CTA buses were allowed to go through.
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