LONDON—Monday afternoon witnessed significant disruptions across multiple lines of the London Underground due to a power outage, according to the British capital’s transport authority. Transport for London reported that three subway lines faced complete suspension, while at least six other lines experienced severe delays and partial suspensions as rush hour traffic surged.
The transport authority is presently collaborating with the National Grid to pinpoint the cause of the interruption. Claire Mann, the Chief Operating Officer of TfL, issued a statement noting, “Earlier this afternoon, a brief interruption in power supply led to a temporary power loss across several lines.” She assured commuters, “Efforts are being made to fully restore operations across the network promptly.”
The National Grid addressed the incident, indicating the presence of a “fault” within its Central London transmission network, which was “resolved in a matter of seconds.” Further details from a Transport for London spokesperson suggested that a power outage in South London, which lasted only a few minutes, triggered the disruptions that followed on the subway network.
Reports from British media highlighted that numerous stations across Central London had to close completely due to the outages. This incident is reminiscent of another recent power outage; last month, a fire at an electrical substation in West London led to a day-long shutdown of Heathrow Airport, affecting thousands of flights. The severity of last month’s incident prompted the government to initiate an inquiry into the nation’s “energy resilience,” sparking debate over the U.K.’s capacity to handle crises involving its key infrastructure.