Power outage disrupts London's subway network

LONDON: Multiple lines on the London Underground network were suspended or disrupted Monday because of a power outage, the British capital's transport authority said. The Transport for London website showed that at least three subway lines were suspended due to a power failure, and there were severe delays and partial suspensions on at least six other lines during the Monday afternoon rush hour. The transport authority said it was working with the National Grid to determine the cause of the outage. "Due to a brief interruption of the power supply to our network, several lines lost power for a short period earlier this afternoon," said Claire Mann, TfL's chief operating officer in a statement. "We are working to get the whole network up and running again as quickly as possible," she added. The National Grid said there was a "fault" on its transmission network in central London and that it was "resolved within seconds." Earlier, a Transport for London spokesperson told the PA news agency that there was a power cut in south London "for a matter of minutes," causing disruption in the subway network. British media reported that many stations in central London were completely closed. Last month, a power outage caused by a fire at an electrical substation in west London forced the closure of Heathrow Airport for almost a day, disrupting thousands of flights. The government ordered an investigation into the country's "energy resilience" after the fire, which raised concerns about the UK's ability to withstand disasters or attacks on critical infrastructure.