Power Outage Stops Trains, Road Traffic in Britain

'Do not travel,' railway tells customers
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 9, 2019 4:46 PM CDT
Power Outage Stops Trains, Road Traffic in Britain
People walk in near darkness at Clapham Junction station during a power outage, in London on Friday.   (Yui Mok/PA via AP)

Large chunks of Britain, including London, were hit with a power outage Friday afternoon that disrupted train travel and snarled rush-hour traffic. Power supplier National Grid said that issues with two generators had caused a loss of power across parts of the country and that they had been resolved, the AP reports. Power failures were reported as far apart as London in southeast England and Cheshire in the northwest. Many people reported that the outage lasted just a few minutes, but the impact on travelers was severe. Transit operator Transport for London said some traffic lights in the city had been knocked out, and advised drivers to be careful.

National Rail Enquiries, which is run by Britain's train companies, said "power supply problems are currently causing disruption to a large number of train services." Rail services across the country were canceled or delayed during the Friday evening rush hour, and commuter trains powered by overhead wires ground to a halt in mid-journey. London North Eastern Railway said all services were suspended in and out of King's Cross, one of London's busiest stations. It tweeted: "Customer advice is DO NOT TRAVEL." The country has lagged in infrastructure investment, per Bloomberg. "The railways aren’t very reliable compared to other countries," one commuter said. "Well, why?”

(More power outage stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X