10 May 2012 Last updated at 20:33 ET

Clapham Junction power cut sees station close

Trains were unable to stop at Clapham Junction station in south London for nearly three hours because of a power cut which left the station in darkness.

The station, which is branded as being Britain's busiest, closed at 21:20 BST, five hours after the power cut began.

The station was closed when it became too dark to allow passengers in but reopened shortly after midnight.

Lights and computers were affected but not the rail line, meaning trains could pass through without stopping.

'Too dark'

A Network Rail spokeswoman said the "domestic power outage", which only affected the station and not any surrounding area, began at about 16:20.

Passengers were able to use the station as normal for several hours, although commuters were affected by issues such as screens giving train times and platform numbers not working.

But at 21:20 the decision was made to close for safety reasons because it became "too dark" to allow passengers into the station.

The spokeswoman said after the closure was announced: "We have got a generator on the way and we are investigating the cause of the outage."

Southern, South West Trains and London Overground services were all affected.

Energy company UK Power Networks said it was called to the problem at the station but found the "fault was on a piece of internal equipment belonging to Network Rail".

The power cut had not affected the wider area, the company said.