How a 90-second power outage sparked chaos for rail commuters
A 90-second power outage at a Network Rail operations centre in Manchester caused chaos for rail commuters, raising questions about the system's resilience. The outage affected signalling, causing trains to stop and systems to be rebooted, and despite a backup supply, it failed to kick in quickly enough. Network Rail has apologized and opened an investigation, with experts warning that consolidating control into a small number of centres can have a broader impact if one centre is affected.
- ▪A 90-second power outage at Network Rail's Manchester operations centre caused widespread disruption to rail services.
- ▪The outage affected signalling, causing trains to stop and systems to be rebooted, with some damage to signalling systems.
- ▪Network Rail has apologized and opened an investigation into the incident, with a focus on building additional resilience into its signalling systems.
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| Original publisher | BBC News — Business |
| Canonical URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3ekd5784k5o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss |
| Publication time | Fri, 07 Aug 2026 12:30:07 GMT |
| Retrieval time | 2026-08-07T12:45:47.452Z |
| Last seen | 2026-08-07T12:45:47.452Z |
| Headline source | Publisher (no WeSearch rewrite) |
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| Summary source text | contentText |
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| Cluster | dOXIW-zlKtkJ · 1 stories |
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| Publisher visit | Yes — open original |
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How a 90-second power outage sparked chaos for rail commutersImage source, Getty ImagesByKaty AustinTransport correspondentPublished15 minutes agoThe power failure which hit a Network Rail operations centre in Manchester was a rare incident. But after commuters were left facing chaos, it has raised questions about how a short outage at one operating centre could have a widespread impact.Network Rail will face scrutiny for how its systems coped and responded to the outage.That's the publicly-owned body whose job it is to operate and maintain Britain's railway infrastructure. That means the tracks, signals, embankments and major stations.It was at Network Rail's operating centre in Manchester that the problem started.
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