Today’s Star-Ledger says the reason for last night’s rail snarls between New York and Newark was that “the trouble-prone” Portal Bridge got stuck in the open position.

The 96-year-old bridge between Secaucus and Kearney swivels to allow boat traffic through. It got stuck open at about 3:30p and was returned to position manually by 4:51.

“But the incident’s effects lingered for hours,” the Ledger reports. NJ Transit trains suspended during the shutdown were canceled, and later trains were delayed by as much as 80 minutes. Five Amtrak trains were delayed, the longest by about 90 minutes.

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