Inquiry into rush-hour blackout

Power in the 270,000-volt main ring around the capital cut out at 6.15pm yesterday, two weeks after a similar failure brought the north east coast of America to a standstill.

Tube travellers were stuck underground and roads became gridlocked as traffic lights went out.

There was 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. Frustrated commuters stared helplessly at the blank departure board.

South Central resumed a handful of 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.

The chaos is expected to extend through to peak train services this morning as the network struggles to get services back to normal.

As the first service pulled into Brighton just after 9pm relief swept across the faces of passengers. Everyone had their own horror story but most were just glad to be home.

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 off and 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: "It's been an epic journey. 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: "I should have been home two-and-a-half hours ago but there were no Tubes running, no London trains and no trains going to Kent.

"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 the mobiles that the network jammed."

Peter Dunlevey, 45, a civil servant at Whitehall, lives in the Seven Dials area of Brighton.

He 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, who works for a train operator, lives in Palmeira Square, Hove.

He said: "I have had a nightmare of a journey. I had a drink so I can't even remember how long I waited but I have not had an easy time of it at all."

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

Tourists arriving at Gatwick were given a memorable taste of British life after stepping off planes to face the pouring rain and delayed trains.

Aaron Janes, 19, was returning from a holiday in Jersey. He said: "I was waiting at the platform for more than an hour. Now I just want to go home."

One 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."

And there was chaos as people dashed from delayed trains out of London to catch flights at the airport.

Ed Foster, 29, from Wakefield, Yorkshire, was going on 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 into Euston so we had to get a taxi. We should be okay but we're rushing 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's been exhausting."

A spokesman for South Central, who was stuck at London Bridge himself, told The Argus: "This affected thousands of commuters right across the network. I would expect from experience the morning peak will be affected too because all the trains and drivers will be out of place and will take time to get it back in order."

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 operator's information line were told the failure had affected signal boxes at London Bridge and London Victoria.

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

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

She said: "It has had a major effect. But 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."

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

She left London at 6.07pm and was told of the chaos by a work colleague who called her.

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

London Mayor Ken Livingstone said between 100,000 and 150,000 people had been affected.

He said: "We have never faced a crisis like this before. There is no indication of any terrorist involvement but it is an absolutely horrendous position because it caught the rush hour.

"We have got to look urgently and seriously at the National Grid."

An investigation has been launched into the power cut.

Last night a National Grid spokesman said the power failure had been triggered when a circuit supplying Wimbledon, Hurst and New Cross failed.

Engineers had to power-down across the grid to ensure the systems were working properly.

Sussex Police said there were no problems on the roads in the county, despite the rail chaos.

A spokesman said the bad weather had kept many people at home.

British Transport Police in Sussex said they were not called to any incidents involving members of the public, despite the long delays. The power cut came two weeks after a massive blackout in New York, which sparked fears of a terrorist attack.

In scenes reminiscent of the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre, thousands of workers in New York fled their buildings on August 18.

Friday August 29, 2003