April 30, 1984

The line for passengers formed early. Even though the bus was scheduled to leave Manhattan at 10 last Friday night, some of the travelers had arrived at the terminal before 8. They had good reason to be punctual, they said. The 43 travelers, almost all of them women, knew that the last one on board would be the last inside the Ogdensburg Correctional Facility when the bus finally rumbled into this rural upstate town - nine hours later. They were the friends and family of inmates being held in the prison.

Twelve years after first being proposed, a Federal regulation goes into effect Monday to require funeral homes to provide an itemized list of services and materials they offer, along with the cost of each item, before a person agrees to any arrangements. The rule, which is being put into effect by the Federal Trade Commission, has long been sought by consumer groups and resisted by funeral homes, but it withstood challenges in the courts and in Congress. Rule Survived Battles ''It is a minor miracle that the rule survived with substantial provisions,'' said Michael Pertschuk, a member of the commission and one of the principal proponents of the regulation. ''New York City, New York State and New Jersey already have adopted similar rules, so the impact of the new regulation there will not be great, but it will reinforce those rules,'' Mr. Pertschuk said. California and a few other states also have similar rules.

''It just requires funeral homes to have a price list available and to tell the truth, yet it led to screams and howls from the industry.'' - Jessica Mitford, author of ''The American Way of Death.'' (B10:6.)

WHEN Devil's Bag crossed the finish line in the Derby Trial Stakes at Churchill Downs Saturday, the colt had retained his role as a favorite for the 110th Kentucky Derby that is now five days away. But in victory, he seemed to have lost more than he had won. An aura of magic surrounded Devil's Bag when he turned 3 years old last Jan. 1. After a sensational, undefeated campaign as a 2-year-old, he seemed destined to be measured against only himself and history. The aura dimmed after his first defeat and during other small setbacks. During the final quarter-mile of the Derby Trial, it all but disappeared. He had led virtually from the start and figured to draw away. Instead, Devil's Bag struggled just to keep going, veering away from the rail with fatigue, and had to be whipped and driven to preserve a 2 1/4-length victory.

Formalizing of agreements with Peking on such issues as scientific and cultural exchanges, economic cooperation and development of nuclear energy was planned by President Reagan before he was to start on the final leg of his six-day trip to China. The agreements, to be formalized today, call for guarantees against double taxation for American corporations in China, a new round of exchanges of performing arts groups, museum exhibits and other cultural programs, and arrangements enabling American companies to help build Chinese nuclear reactors. (Page A1, Column 6.) Concerted pressure on Libya's leader will be sought by the United States in consultations with Britain and other allies, Reagan Administration officials said. Until Britain broke diplomatic ties with Libya last Sunday over the shooting in London of a police constable by someone inside the Libyan Embassy, only the United States, which expelled all Libyan diplomats in 1981, had taken action against the Government of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. (A1:4.)