Red Line trains resume route after being diverted for Loop hazmat response

CHICAGO -- Red Line subway service is resuming after a reroute Sunday due to a hazmat response in the Loop.

Trains were halted at 6:38 a.m. for reports of fire department activity at the Grand station, according to service alerts from the CTA. By 6:47 a.m., trains were being re-routed to the elevated tracks between Fullerton and Cermak-Chinatown.

Subway service resumed by 7:20 a.m., the CTA said. Trains continued to bypass the Grand station until about 8:30 a.m., but that station was eventually reopened as well.

A Chicago Fire Department spokesman said crews conducted a hazmat response at the station for reports of a suspicious substance.

Crews found a film on the tracks that turned out to be Ansul powder, a dry fire suppressant chemical, the fire department said.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire - Copyright Chicago Sun-Times 2019.)