Electric Trouble Snarled Morning Rush on Rails

Bridge troubles snarled the commute for thousands of rail riders in New Jersey and New York City Wednesday morning.
    
Amtrak spokesman Cliff Cole says an electrical problem kept the Portal Bridge in Kearny from closing properly until 6:26 a.m. Cole says initial indications suggested ice may have gotten into the bridge equipment.
    
NJ Transit train service in and out of Manhattan was restored an hour after it was suspended. But riders on North Jersey Coast Line, Midtown Direct and Northeast Corridor Line trains faced delays.
    
The problem began at 5:28 a.m. when Amtrak was unable to close the bridge, which spans the Hackensack River and carries trains between Newark's Penn Station and New York City's Penn Station. The two-lane rail bridge, built in 1910, is just west of the Secaucus Junction rail station.