Service resumed on Market-Frankford Line in Center City after halt due to possible transformer fire
The fire was declared under control, but service on the subway in Center City was halted for several hours.
Service on the L, formerly known as Market-Frankford Line, in Center City, resumed Wednesday night after being stopped for several hours in response to a possible transformer fire, officials said.
Trolley service had been resumed earlier after being halted.
PATCO said service was not available westbound beyond Eighth Street because of power issues in Center City.
SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch said the suspended service lasted a long time because it took a while for crews to access the area where repairs were needed.
“Once they got it in, the damage wasn’t as extensive as originally feared so the repairs proceeded quickly,” SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch said in an email.
The Center City District issued an alert shortly before 3:15 p.m. that firefighters were responding to an underground transformer fire near City Hall.
A fire in that area was declared under control at 3:17 p.m., the Philadelphia Fire Department said.
Busch said the fire was believed to be the result of a transformer, but there were no initial reports of a fire in the former Market-Frankford tunnel.
There was smoke reported in an elevator shaft at Dilworth Park, but no reported injuries, Busch said.
SEPTA ran shuttle buses while service was suspended on the L from 30th Street to the Spring Garden station, Busch said.