'Drawbridge Issue' Suspends North Shore Commuter Rail Service

UPDATED: 5 p.m.

BEVERLY, MA — Commuter rail service on the Newburyport/Rockport line was suspended for nearly two hours between Beverly and Salem on Thursday afternoon because of what the MBTA called a "drawbridge issue."

The MBTA said trains ran between North Station and Salem, and Beverly to Rockport and Newburyport — but not in between. Passengers were bused between Salem and Beverly to connect with a different train for continued service to their final destination.

The MBTA said the issue was resolved at about 4:30 p.m. but residual delays remained. The Rockport Line Train 118 (4:37 p.m.) was canceled.

An extra inbound Newburyport/Rockport Line train departed Beverly at about 4:24 p.m. and was to make all local stops to North Station.

This is the second time this week a drawbridge issue in the Beverly area was blamed for delays in service on the Rockport/Newburyport line.

(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.)