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Power outage at Network Rail centre triggered widespread rail stops
The brief power cut was resolved within 90 seconds, but signaling disruptions forced trains to stop and required system reboots after a backup supply did not switch over as quickly as expected.
A power failure at a Network Rail operations centre in Manchester led to train stoppages across large parts of Britain after signaling controls were affected, turning a rare disruption into widespread commuter chaos, the BBC reports.
Network Rail said the power cut in the area was resolved within 90 seconds. However, its backup supply failed to kick in as quickly as expected, and because signaling was impacted, trains had to stop while systems were rebooted.
The outage also caused some damage to the systems controlling signaling, with repairs taking time due to the need to replace certain parts. Network Rail is expected to face scrutiny over how its systems coped and how it responded.
The incident is renewing questions about the rail network’s centralized control model. The BBC notes Network Rail has moved toward 12 rail operating centres across Great Britain, a consolidation that experts say can broaden the impact if one hub is badly affected.