Port Authority light-rail service was delayed this afternoon due to a mechanical issue on one of the T cars.

A car on an inbound light-rail vehicle at the South Hills Junction was halted by a mechanical issue at 3:35 p.m. causing a delay of about 20 minutes for light rail vehicles elsewhere.

Soon after the incident, Port Authority set the track so that other cars could pass around the car that was out of service.

The out of service car was repaired after about 30 minutes, and normal service was restored by 4:05 p.m.

The Port Authority did not notify people waiting at T stations of the delay, causing more unrest because of the rush-hour inconvenience. Following the delay the authority explained what happened on its Twitter account.

Adam Brandolph, spokesman for the Port Authority, said information about the delay did not come out sooner because the technicians were trying to find out what was wrong with the car.

“[Technicians] are trying to figure out what’s going on,” he said. “The operator is trying to figure out whether a delay is going to last two minutes or if it’s going to be longer. … By the time information gets to us it might be 15 minutes [after the incident],” he added.

First Published: August 17, 2016, 8:47 p.m.
Updated: August 17, 2016, 10:30 p.m.