Latest North Shore Commuter Rail Problem Forces Shuttle Buses Into Use

SALEM, MA — Another day, another delay on the MBTA commuter rail routes along the North Shore.

The MBTA said late Thursday morning that a signal issue in the Beverly area was causing delays of up to 45 minutes for all trains traveling along the Rockport and Newburyport lines.

Because of the issue, all Rockport-bound trains were being terminated in Salem as of 11 a.m. with a shuttle bus service in use from Beverly to Rockport.

"Our engineering team is working to resolve the issue as soon as possible," the MBTA said early Thursday afternoon.

These are the latest delays in the service that was disrupted during a daylong drawbridge issue in Beverly two weeks ago and comes as Salem officials have urged those coming to the city for Halloween festivities to take the commuter rail rather than drive downtown because of a lack of parking.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)