Commuters Stranded at Harlington Platform as Power Cut Disrupts Travel Across London

A power cut affected “nearly a million” homes, darkened railway stations, and halted trains near London and elsewhere in southeast England on August 9, according to reports.

“Unexpected and unusual” issues with two generators caused the outage, National Grid Electricity System Operator said on Twitter.

National Rail said on Twitter that “power supply problems” affected a “large number of train services.” The power, which cut shortly before 5 pm, was returned by 6.30 pm, the National Grid Electricity System Operator said.

This video, taken by Sophie Earish, shows people waiting at Harlington station in Harlington, England, after the train service was halted. The video also shows passengers inside the train as someone makes an announcement about the delays.

Earish said she was at Bedford station when “everything went black and cut out,” including power to computers and a nearby Starbucks. She said she then got another train but only made it to Harlington station, where the train “stopped for about two hours with no updates.”

Earish said she got out of the train to stretch and commuters were also given free water. Earish said she planned to bypass the public transportation chaos and catch a ride home.

Additionally, service out of King’s Cross station in London was canceled to help prevent overcrowding, local media reported. British Transportation Police said on Twitter that officers were assisting at multiple railway stations due to the disrupted service caused by the power cut. Credit: Sophie Earish via Storyful