NEW YORK — Thousands of rail passengers on Metro-North Railroad and Amtrak trains were stranded for nearly four hours Saturday after a Connecticut drawbridge failed to close properly, a spokeswoman said.
A wire service reports that the pivoting railroad bridge, located in South Norwalk, Conn., turned to allow boats to pass along the Norwalk River. But when it closed, the rails and signal circuits ”didn’t quite get closed sufficiently because of the heat,” said Marjorie Anders, a spokeswoman for Metro-North.
The problem occurred at about 1 p.m., and wasn’t repaired until about 4:45 p.m.
As a result, no through trains were running between New York City and New Haven, Conn. Service on Metro-North’s New Haven line was running between Grand Central and South Norwalk and between East Norwalk and New Haven, Anders said.
A dozen affected through trains six Metro North and six Amtrak were stranded awaiting the repair of the problem, officials said.
About 39,000 Connecticut commuters, and 8,000 New York commuters use the New Haven line on weekdays.