(The following article by Ron Marsico and Mark Mueller was posted on the Newark Star-Ledger website on July 26.)
NEWARK, N.J. — New Jersey’s main commuter rail route to Manhattan was shut down for about 90 minutes yesterday afternoon, leading to lengthy delays for thousands of passengers trying to get into or out of the city.
The problem occurred at the trouble-prone Portal Bridge, which carries Amtrak and NJ Transit trains across the Hackensack River between Kearny and Secaucus.
The 96-year-old span, which swivels open to allow boat traffic to pass, became stuck in the open position shortly before 3:30 p.m., said Vernae Graham, an Amtrak spokeswoman.
Technicians manually closed the bridge at 4:51 p.m., allowing train service to resume between Newark Penn Station and New York Penn Station, but the inci dent’s effects lingered for hours.
NJ Transit trains suspended during the shutdown were canceled, said Dan Stessel, an agency spokesman. Later trains were delayed by as much as 80 minutes, according to updates on NJ Transit’s Web site.
Five Amtrak trains were delayed, the longest by about 90 minutes, Graham said.
At Newark Penn Station, a frustrated Ed Terry seemed lost in the confusion.
“You were in swarms of people, and they didn’t know where they were going,” said Terry, 65, a Middletown resident headed to Manhattan for an organ concert at Riverside Church. “There wasn’t any updates to inform you.”
Graham said it was not immediately clear what caused the problem. The 960-foot bridge, which is owned and maintained by Amtrak, has been a frequent headache for commuters. In addition to occasional breakdowns, the bridge caught fire last May, leading to its closure for about 10 hours.
More than 450 trains carrying about 162,000 passengers cross the Portal Bridge each day.