The power cut in London on 28 August 2003

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On the 28 August 2003 at 6.20pm London suffered a major power cut. The power cut was caused by a safety circuit with a wrong protection relay, which had been fitted by contractors. Power was restored in 30 minutes, but chaos reigned for the evening. Many commuters were stuck as only a reduced rail service was restored and most of the underground was out of action until the next day, due to the antiquated signalling systems used on the tube. The communication flow to the Mayor, transport staff and public was slow and limited. The Committee recommended that the utilities and other public service providers improve their external communications and that the plan for tube signals improvements under the PPP should be monitored.