Trains stopped for 9 hours by SoCal gas leak

The Associated Press

TUSTIN, Calif. --

A natural gas leak in Orange County stopped trains for nine hours Friday, stranding thousands of commuters. No injuries were reported.

A crew was excavating on a Tustin street around 8 a.m. Friday and hit an 8-inch gas line, said Southern California Gas Co. spokeswoman Rachel Laing.

The rail lines were re-opened just before 6 p.m., officials said.

Amtrak officials reported calling charter bus services to take passengers from the Santa Ana and Irvine stations.

"We haven't been able to get enough buses to accommodate every single train," said spokeswoman Karina Romero. "We felt it went extremely well considering the stress we were under to move people around that spot."

Information from: The Orange County Register, http://www.ocregister.com