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Hundreds of commuters were stranded Thursday morning due to problems with the WALK Bridge in Norwalk. It was just the latest in a yearlong series of service disruptions -- ranging from inconveniences to more than weeklong breaks in service to deadly derailments -- that has plagued the nation's busiest commuter railroad.
Problems began at about 6 a.m. with no trains running between East Norwalk and South Norwalk. But trains began running again at 9 a.m. after crews were able to close the bridge.
At the Stamford train station, an irritated Beverly Marshall from Fairfield was waiting for a train to take her to Norwalk.
She said the train 7:15 a.m. train from Fairfield that takes her to South Norwalk to arrive at her job at 7:50 a.m. "blew past" her stop and left her in Stamford.
"Refund? We're way beyond refund. We've got jobs. We've got jobs," she said as she waited by a track at 9:15 a.m. for a train to take her back to South Norwalk.
Marshall also heaped blame on the state because she heard they didn't tell Metro-North about the bridge problem.
Stamford Mayor David Martin said the bridge problem was one of the topics he testified about to a Senate subcommittee in Washington, D.C., on May 15.
"I specifically talked about the five movable bridges, the youngest of which was built in 1907, and pointed out the problems with the Norwalk bridge," he said in comments at the Government Center.
He spoke earlier this month to the Senate Subcommittee on Surface Transportation, and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security.
Martin said he urged investment in the rail infrastructure and noted how important an efficient rail system is for the city and the state. A stuck bridge disrupts not only commuters but also economic activity, he said.
"That sort of problem affects the economic viability of the whole region," Martin said.
U.S. Rep. Jim Himes agreed via Twitter @jahimes. "Yes. Time to rebuild that bridge," he Tweeted on Thursday morning.
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