Commuters stranded at Victoria

The power cut that hit London this evening has caused chaos at Victoria Station.

Hundreds of passengers have been told that services would resume shortly but delays were inevitable.

Outside the station, crowds queued for the few available spaces on buses and dozens gathered outside the London Underground entrances.

Secretary Jenny White, 20, from Longfield, Kent, said she had been waiting since 6pm for her train home.

She added: "I just really want to get home, I've been here for ages now and I think I missed the last train that was running before the power strike.

"I don't know what I would have done if the trains weren't running at all, I'd have probably have had to have stayed in the station.

"The queue for the cabs is about a mile long and there's nowhere I can get a bus - there's so many people out there.

"I'm waiting for my boyfriend. He managed to get on the Tube but he was evacuated at Bank and managed to squeeze himself onto a bus and is coming back to Victoria."

Another commuter compared tonight's travel chaos to the problems experienced in America recently.

Civil servant Alan Basford, 52, from Meopham, Kent, said: "This disruption seems very similar to what happened in New York, and it's also a bit strange the two events have happened close together.

"If I can't get back home tonight I'll have to go back to the office or get a North Kent coach from Victoria coach station but I imagine the traffic will be horrendous - I've just got to see what happens."

Teacher Valerie Chalancon, 33, from Rochester, Kent, said she would probably have to stay with relatives in London if she couldn't get a train home tonight.

Ms Chalancon added: "It's quite amazing that a big city like London can be brought to a standstill like this.

"The infrastructure is terrible - it's really quite worrying.

"But there always seems to be a problem with the trains. It's a real struggle to travel sometimes, I don't know what's going to happen to the system in the future."