London power cut: police board trains as ‘trapped’ passengers stranded

A national grid failure has plunged the capital into darkness with homes also affected as well as major train and Underground lines. A video shows a policeman appearing to board a stationary

train at Potters Bar station, approximately 13 miles north of London. The footage was shared on Twitter, captioned: “Stranded in potters bar, can’t get in or out of London! “Police on board

the trains #breakingnews #london #greatnorthern #trains #powercut.” Meanwhile, separate footage also shows passengers using phone torches for light at Clapham Junction station. The video,

posted to Twitter, read: “Scenes at Clapham junction, commuters using phone lights in the tunnels. “Also I just got trapped on the train as the doors stopped working.” 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!” Trains that were in operation have broken down and come to a standstill coming in and out of the city, furious passengers have said. Strike-hit South Western Railway has not been

affected, but reported numerous incidents such as tress having fallen on lines and an “operational incident” affecting services to Exeter. A commuter onboard the Victoria Line said the heat

during the power cut has caused him to turn into a “human sweat marinade”. Others said the situation had happened outside of London. 30 minutes into the chaos, South Western Railway tweeted

it had started to affect services. They said: "Due to a power cut, some of our information systems are not displaying journey information correctly. Please speak to a member of staff or

use a help point if you need assistance." The Northern Line reported Hampstead Station had been closed due to the failure. Trains on the Victoria Line are affected. There are also

reports of some airports having been affected by a lack of power, though this is yet to be confirmed.