Commuter chaos in Sydney

Jul 05,2007 00:00 by UPI

SYDNEY -- Thousands of Australian rail commuters were stranded or delayed Thursday after wind blew a hatch onto power lines in Sydney.

The Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported that a roof hatch blew off a train onto power lines on the Sydney Harbor Bridge.

More than 30,000 people travel the line during the evening rush hour but Thursday evening they were looking for buses or walking across the windy bridge, the network reported.

Commuters waited 45 minutes in line to catch a bus across the harbor bridge, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Peta Paterson of North Sydney said she waited 15 minutes before deciding to walk. A transit officer told her that even pedestrian traffic was congested, the Morning Herald reported.

"I didn't want to stand in a queue, but he said foot traffic was blocked across the bridge," Paterson told the newspaper. "How crazy is this? You can't even get out of the city."