Commuters Start to Scramble : Rail strike: Bus companies try to take more passengers. Some Amtrak lines may be affected.

With contract negotiations broken down and a nationwide freight rail strike scheduled to begin, Southern California train commuters scrambled Tuesday to make alternative plans for getting to work today and bus operators raced to try to accommodate them.

Orange County Transit District officials said they planned to add buses from Huntington Beach and Fullerton to downtown Los Angeles, but the number and schedule of the extra buses were uncertain late Tuesday afternoon.

Greyhound Lines said it also planned to expand service to accommodate travelers between San Diego and Los Angeles and Los Angeles and Las Vegas, but details of its special service also were pending and unclear late Tuesday.

The nation’s railroad unions planned to begin striking freight lines this morning after a federal cooling-off period ended at midnight. Al Delyea, general chairman of the United Transportation Union local in Santa Ana, said his 1,500 conductors, brakemen and yardmen in New Mexico, Arizona and California planned to wait until 7 a.m. today to walk off the job.

The strike does not directly affect Amtrak, but the national rail passenger corporation’s trains in Southern California are expected to be interrupted because they operate on track leased from and operated by the Santa Fe freight railroad. Unions have said they will strike Santa Fe.

Amtrak is not a commuter service, but many of the 2,500 passengers who ride its San Diegan service from San Diego to Orange County and Los Angeles are commuters. Amtrak, under contract, operates limited commuter service for the Orange County Transportation Commission. About 300 passengers take advantage of that daily round-trip between San Juan Capistrano and Los Angeles.

Orange County transportation officials feared tie-ups on the already congested Santa Ana Freeway, but neither the state Department of Transportation nor the California Highway Patrol had special plans for dealing with them.

“We’ll see what happens on the first day,” said Joe El-Harake, Caltrans operations chief in Orange County. “If after the first day there are some problems, we will look at our ramp-metering system and adjust it.”

Los Angeles’ Blue Line trolley is unaffected and will operate as usual.

Bus operators are struggling to assist train commuters.

“We’re trying to work it out so that we can have extra buses on the 701 line that goes from Huntington Beach to L.A., and the 721 line that goes from Fullerton Park and Ride to L.A.,” said Orange County Transit District spokeswoman Mona Ziada.

Ed Gomez, a driver-supervisor for Greyhound Lines in Los Angeles, said his company was trying to coordinate with Amtrak to run Greyhound buses on the train service schedule.

Cindy McKim, chief of Caltrans’ rail division, which partially funds half of Amtrak’s eight daily trains along the Los Angeles-San Diego corridor, said there are no plans for Amtrak, Caltrans to provide commuters with an alternative to the train.

“Unfortunately,” she said, “if a strike comes down, commuters and other train travelers are going to be on their own.”

Ron Scolaro, chief administrative officer for Amtrak government affairs in Los Angeles, said Amtrak will complete all runs that it starts--it will not strand passengers halfway to their destination--but it cannot promise to take home those commuters who ride the rails to work this morning.

Commuters took news of the strike with a shrug or a scowl.

“I’m in total favor of the strike because these guys work hard,” said Fred Arthur, a twice-a-week rider from San Juan Capistrano, as he took Amtrak to Los Angeles on Tuesday. “But it is going to be a tremendous inconvenience for me and very costly also in terms of gas.”

Fellow passenger Daniel G. Rooney, an attorney with offices in Dana Point and Los Angeles, said he knew the strike was coming and organized a car pool with some other frequent riders.

Most drivers also expressed concern over the high price of parking in downtown Los Angeles, along with the wear the long drive would have on their cars. Parking in Los Angeles can range from $5.50 for the day to $22 a day in the financial district.

James Wiggins said he bought his house just two months ago in Dana Point based on the knowledge he would be able to commute by train to Los Angeles, where he works as an accountant.

“I can’t believe that I am actually going to have to make that drive,” Wiggins said. “I bought the house knowing I could catch the train because I hate long drives. Now I am going to have to have the headache of driving an hour and half and who only knows how much I’ll have to pay for parking.”

Judy Acord of Orange bemoaned the loss of time to prepare for the day.

“This is really going to put a damper on my commute,” said Acord, a banker in the financial district. “I get so much done while on the train. What can you do in the car? You can’t read the newspaper or look over your day’s work.”

Geneva Broussard said she has made the 90-minute trip from her home in Brea to her Los Angeles County job a few times before and dreads the thought of having to do it again.

“I am going to have to leave my house much, much earlier now,” Broussard said. “I love the way I can relax on the train before getting to work. Now it’s like going back to working hard before even getting to work.”

Another commuter, Phil Ihde, said his problem was different. He doesn’t drive.

“I don’t even own a car, so I am up the creek to a certain extent,” Ihde said as he boarded the commuter train to Orange County. “We’ve been talking about a car pool in the office, so I am hoping that will work out. I have to get to work.”

Times staff writers Jeffrey Perlman and Allison Samuels in Orange County and John Glionna in San Diego contributed to this report.