New Haven — Amtrak trains traveling between New Haven and Boston faced lengthy delays Saturday after a train struck a person in Rhode Island, forcing authorities to rail halt traffic for several hours, officials said.

In a service disruption alert issued at 2:50 p.m., Amtrak said traffic was stopped after a "trespasser" came into contact with a train on the tracks west of Providence. At 5:40 p.m., officials said normal services had resumed, but that residual delays were expected due to train congestion.

Earlier, the passenger rail service said authorities had requested a hold on all train travel in the area to allow for an investigation.