More than 600 million people are without power in India, in what is being described as “the world’s biggest blackout.”
Cities in 22 of India’s 28 states, including New Delhi, have been affected. As of 1:45 p.m. IST, only 38 megawatts were being provided to the capital, out of the roughly 4,000 megawatts needed to supply the city with adequate electricity. India’s transportation network, which relies heavily on electrified railways, came to a halt. The Delhi Metro, which moves nearly 2 million people daily, was completely down for hours.
Update on transport services, as of 12:45 p.m. EST, or, 10:45 p.m. IST:
- 300 trains have been stalled across 8 states primarily in Eastern India, stranding about 300,000 passengers. Diesel locomotives have been deployed to alleviate these passengers and haul the powerless railcars to their nearest respective stations.
Update on transport services, as of 11:30 p.m. EST, or, 9:30 p.m. IST:
- Trains run by North Western Railway are experiencing little delay, except for the Jaipur-Durg train, which is experiencing hour-and-a-half delays.
- Train service in Jharkrand State, home to more than 26 million people, has been greatly impacted and been given a piecemeal 15 megawatts of power to run limited service.
- 180 commuter and long distance trains in the area immediately outside of Kolkota were halted as power failed to supply the network.