NJ Transit service between Newark and NYC's Penn Station getting back on track

It was a tough morning commute for thousands of train riders trying to get to New York. 

An overhead wire issue near the Portal Bridge forced NJ Transit trains to stop between Newark and Manhattan, causing major delays and confusion. 

Service was restored just about an hour after the suspension, but there were extensive residual delays.   

The problem occurred during the peak of the morning rush and it forced NJ Transit and Amtrak service to be suspended between Newark and New York, affecting thousands of commuters. 

NJ Transit rail tickets and passes were being cross-honored by NJ Transit buses at Newark Penn Station, Hoboken and 33rd Street in New York City. 

For more information on travel alternatives, click here. 

There was confusion at Newark Penn Station, where riders could be seen running from one platform to another just to hop on a train that wasn't moving any time soon. 

"That train I usually catch going to Trenton is coming from New York," NJ Transit rider Yasif Sim said. "Get your act together New Jersey Transit."  

New Portal North Bridge set to open   

In an unexpected twist, some trains were diverted onto the new Portal North Bridge  just days before it was supposed to open to train traffic. Kolluri said it was purposely done to bypass the problem spot. 

"Thank God we had the bridge ready to go this morning because Amtrak called us at 4 o'clock this morning saying there was a catenary pole near the old portal bridge that had to be repaired. So we were able to get service, limited service, up and running on the brand new bridge two days ahead of schedule," Kolluri said. "So thank God for that, even though it's Friday the 13th." 

Will overhead wires continue to cause problems?

NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri told CBS News New York it wasn't their fault, NJ Transit trains operate on Amtrak territory on the Northeast Corridor, and use its overhead wires for power. 

"The challenge is [Amtrak has] a 100-year-old infrastructure, and we've asked them to make sure they focus on repairing this, and they have. One of the reasons why the new Portal Bridge is so important is we have new wires and a new bridge. They have to do that now through the entire corridor, so our commuters, NJ Transit commuters, don't have the same problem every single day," Kolluri said. 

Kolluri said Amtrak is addressing the issue. 

"At approximately 5:45 a.m., we began operating trains over the new Portal North Bridge early to allow for train travel to resume after a few catenary poles on the old Portal Bridge were found to be leaning impacting trains service. The cause of this still to be determined," Amtrak said in a statement. "We are currently working with our partners at NJ Transit to make the necessary catenary pole repairs on the old Portal Bridge. We apologize to both of our customers for the inconvenience, which just goes to show the importance of the new bridge and not having to rely on 116-year-old infrastructure."

Thursday, Gov. Mikie Sherrill took a ceremonial first train ride across the new span. 

"New Jersey is the state that built the nation, but we need to continue to update New Jersey, and we've fallen short a little bit. And right now it's great to get back into the business of updating our rail system," Sherrill said.

Commuters have been waiting for years for the new Portal North Bridge to open, and for the past month have been coping with additional service disruptions as crews worked around the clock to connect the new bridge to the rail network.