A gas leak in Lorton on Monday, May 23 stranded 50 passengers at the Lorton train station for over four hours.
According to Fairfax County Fire and Rescue spokesman Dan Schmidt, construction workers using a backhoe ruptured an 8-inch gas line at 8009 Lorton Road around 9 a.m. County Fire and Rescue and HazMat personnel responded to the scene "to protect life and property," according to Schmidt, but didn't have to evacuate anyone in the area.
Because the leak was located underneath the overpass of the railroad tracks owned by CSX, Amtrak train service was shut down until shortly after 1 p.m.
"There was a great potential for igniting that gas leak," said Schmidt.
The line was clamped off by Washington Gas, and took four hours to repair. In the meantime, said Schmidt, approximately 50 passengers were kept in place at the train station.
— Glenn McCarty