A widespread power cut is bringing transport to a standstill across the UK during rush hour, including airports, trains and ports, plus traffic lights in the capital.
Thameslink, the network that services both Gatwick and Luton airports, has announced that “services running across the whole network may be cancelled or delayed” for the rest of the day.
A spokesperson said: “A widescale failure of the power grid has brought many of our trains that use the overhead wires to a stand. This is causing significant disruption to Thameslink and Great Northern trains. Services may be cancelled, delayed or revised until the end of the day. We have put in place alternative travel advice which is available on our website and national rail enquiries and on social media and would urge passengers to check before they travel. We are doing everything we can to keep passengers informed and get them moving again.”
They added: “The trains have been affected by the power outage to the point where they require a technician to restart them. As this will take time, we are beginning to evacuate some of the trains that are stranded outside platforms. Our advice to customers is to stay on board trains for their own safety.”
A Network Rail spokeswoman said: “There was a power surge on the national grid this evening which means we lost power to all our signalling over a wide area, including the Newport, Gloucester, Ashford, Bristol, Eastbourne, Hastings, Three Bridges and Exeter areas.”
There is disruption to all services across the Gatwick Express, Great Northern and Southern networks. Train operators have said services may be cancelled, delayed or revised.
The problem is also affecting East Midlands Trains services to and from London St Pancras International and LNER services to and from London Kings Cross.
London North Eastern Railway (LNER) tweeted: “Due to a major failure of the electricity supply, services into and out of King’s Cross are suspended. Customer advice is DO NOT TRAVEL. Customers holding tickets for today, Friday 9 August, may use their tickets tomorrow Saturday 10 August.”
Train companies are advising passengers onboard trains that aren’t moving to “remain on the train. Train Operators are working to get trains on the move as soon as possible.”
Newcastle Airport has also been hit by the outage. Scott McKenzie, 31, was at the airport when the power cut out for around 15 minutes.
“It was a bit worrying to start – more so because various alarms were going off and staff clearly didn’t quite know what was going on either,” he told PA.
“Some of the spaces in the airport have little daylight – we were literally plunged into darkness and people were using their phones as torches to see and get around.”
Airport officials said it was due to “wider problems in the region”, but have since told The Independent: “We’re aware of some power issues at the airport and across the local area. We would like to assure all passengers that we are currently 100 per cent operational and there is no disruption.”
Transport for London tweeted: “Due to a large scale National Grid failure there is a power cut in the London and South East areas, meaning that some traffic lights are down. Please be very cautious on the roads!”
Police officers could be forced to man busy junctions, a spokeswoman for Transport for London (TFL) confirmed.
Ellesmere Port is also without power.
