Anger after the blackout

Passengers trying to get home from London were stranded on trains when power in the 270,000 volt main ring around the capital cut out at 6.15pm.

Leading figures including London mayor Ken Livingstone have called for a full inquiry into the failure, which came a fortnight after a similar blackout on the north-east coast of America.

The National Grid today apologised for the fiasco, which Mr Livingstone blamed on under-funding of the power networks.

Tube travellers were stuck underground, fearing terrorists were to blame, and roads became gridlocked as traffic lights went out.

There was also mayhem at Gatwick as delayed holidaymakers dashed for flights.

Thousands of train passengers were stranded on platforms at Victoria and London Bridge as track stretching 30 miles lost power.

South Central resumed a few services from Victoria at 7pm but trains from London Bridge did not restart until 7.45pm.

Trains arriving at Brighton were delayed by at least 90 minutes throughout the evening.

Network Rail said trains were running smoothly again today, while only slight delays were being experienced on one London Underground line.

A South Central spokeswoman said: "We're pretty much back to normal but there are still a few problems where stock has been left out of place by what happened."

Mr Livingstone condemned the power failure as an "absolute outrage" and blamed it on underfunding.

He said: "You have to ask why it is a country which is the fourth richest in the world cannot invest enough in its power supply to maintain power."

Energy minister Stephen Timms said he would be asking for an urgent report from the National Grid, which said it was investigating the cause of the fault.

Mark Fairburn, chief operating officer of the National Grid, blamed the problem on two faults and insisted it was a very rare event.

He said: "We would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused to people.

"We have been undertaking a full technical investigation as to the background of the faults.

"We had an equipment failure on our system in south east London and that was followed within seconds by a second fault which caused the power cut."

"This has got nothing to do with under-investment. Investment levels are at the highest level the industry has seen."

Shelley Atlas, of the Brighton Line Commuters Group, missed the chaos by minutes.

She left London at 6.07pm and was told of the problems by a colleague who phoned her.

She said: "I was very lucky to have left before the power cut but there will be delays today because all the trains will be in the wrong place."

Web designer Jonathan Flowers, 28, of Holland Road, Hove, said: "I was stuck on the tube in a station for an hour, then I had to get a bus.

"In the end I was only delayed for an hour and a half but my girlfriend was stuck for one and three-quarter hours on a train outside London Bridge."

Bank of England worker Charlie Thomas, 48, of Upper Abbey Road, Brighton, said: "They closed London Bridge when I got there so I went back to work for an hour.

"There was nothing on the internet to say what was happening so I took a chance and went back to the station. I waited half an hour before the Brighton train arrived and then there was a mad scramble to get on."

A 34-year-old Capital Radio worker from Brighton said: "It took three quarters of an hour to go from Charing Cross to London Bridge. The train driver said people had started to walk along the track.

"When the Brighton train came in, I've never seen so many people trying to get on one train but after Croydon it wasn't so bad.

"Everyone was very good-natured about it and seemed resigned to it. Everyone was dripping wet because it had just poured with rain. So many people were trying to ring home on their mobiles that the network jammed."

Peter Dunlevey, 45, a Whitehall civil servant, from the Seven Dials area of Brighton, said: "I was lucky, I was only delayed for an hour. Fortunately there was a Sainsbury's near the station which was well-stocked with booze."

Chris John, 35, of Palmeira Square, Hove, said: "I have had a nightmare of a journey. I had a drink so I can't even remember how long I waited."

Delphi Colman, 21, from Brighton, said: "I was only delayed for about ten minutes but I was one of the lucky ones."

Holidaymakers arriving at Gatwick were given a miserable welcome as they stepped off planes to be confronted by pouring rain and delayed trains.

Aaron Janes, 19, returning from a trip to Jersey, said: "I was waiting at the platform for more than an hour."

A 45-year-old civil servant from Lewes said: "It was hectic in London so I took a chance and got a train to Gatwick thinking it would be easier once I got there.

"I was really fed up when I realised these trains were affected as well as the tubes."

There was also confusion as people dashed from delayed trains out of London to catch flights at the airport.

Ed Foster, 29, from Wakefield, Yorkshire, was taking a business trip to Italy.

He said: "It was a complete nightmare. I should make it but it will be a close call."

Hassan Patel, from Birmingham, was going on holiday with his wife and two children.

He said: "Our train came in to Euston so we had to get a taxi. We should be okay but we're running just in case."

Helena Bulner, 27, from Brighton, said: "I'd just flown in from Madrid and then I was delayed for an hour-and-a-half at Gatwick. I didn't need that. It has been exhausting."

However, a Gatwick spokesman said: "There was not really an impact on us and our operations. It was largely business as normal.

"At that time of day there tends to be a lull in the number of passengers coming into the airport, so there wasn't any need to delay flights."

Network Rail spokesman Kevin Groves said: "All power to points and lighting went at 6.30pm.

"The trains had no power at all. They were at a standstill and all signals were at red. Nothing was moving."

Passengers using Thameslink services into Sussex who called the operators' information line were told the failure had affected signal boxes at London Bridge and Victoria.

The message said Thameslink services were suffering "very serious disruption, short-notice alterations or cancellations".

A spokeswoman for AA Roadwatch said traffic signals had been "greatly affected".

She said: "Unfortunately it also affected our cameras so we had no idea what was happening on the roads and had to rely on the police for information."

Sussex Police said there were no problems on the county's roads, with the bad weather keeping many people at home.

The power cut came two weeks after a massive blackout in New York, which initially sparked fears of a terrorist attack.

Almost 1,000 customers were left without electricity this morning, just hours after London was brought to a standstill.

Homes and businesses were plunged into darkness after an electricity fault hit 980 EDF Energy customers in Saltdean, Telscombe Cliffs and Peacehaven.

The firm said engineers quickly began work to restore supplies after the fault was first reported in Saltdean at 5.45am. By 8am, 250 customers were still without electricity and power was fully restored just after 10am.

A spokeswoman for EDF Energy said: "It is very much a localised failure. It is nothing to do with the power problem last night."

Engineers have been working to find out what caused the failure.