By Ben Fractenberg and Patrick Hedlund
DNAinfo Reporter/Producers
EAST VILLAGE — A fire broke out on the L train subway tracks Monday morning, creating heavy smoke that forced trains to stop running in both directions between Manhattan and Brooklyn, fire and transit officials said.
The blaze began at about 9:15 a.m. just east of the First Avenue stop at East 14th Street, sending smoke throughout the tunnel and snarling the morning commute, FDNY officials said.
Service on the line resumed about 11:30 a.m., the MTA said.
A train operator whose asthma was aggravated by the smoke was transported to Beth Israel hospital, officials added.
The cause of the blaze is currently under investigation, fire and transit sources said.
One straphanger waiting with a couple dozen others outside the First Avenue station said a bus to bring Brooklyn-bound passengers to their destinations had not yet arrived by 11 a.m.
"I woke up at 6 o’clock, and I’m still not there," said high school student Kirk Livingston, 16, who was on his way to classes in Greenpoint. "It's ridiculous."
