Electrical explosion causes widespread disruption

An explosion during works on a high-tension electrical station in Machelen, just outside of Brussels, around 11.00 yesterday morning led to widespread disruption across the country, including power outages and massive delays on the rail network.

According to a spokesperson for electricity provider Elia, the actual power-cut lasted only a fraction of a second, as the outage at Machelen was rapidly taken up by the grid, which stepped in to maintain continuity of supply. Many businesses and services felt the effects for longer, however, as any outage means they switch over to emergency generators – an effect that is not so easy to reverse once the power comes back on.

Traffic lights on regional roads in Brussels went dark, with a number starting up again automatically. Those unable to do so were reset by hand. “Our technical service spent the whole afternoon going around starting those lights up again manually,” explained Inge Paemen of Brussel Mobiliteit.

In Brussels, the signals for the metro network were affected, forcing drivers to continue without them. But the damage was most severe on the rail network, with delays of 20-30 minutes, a one-hour delay of all train traffic to Brussels Airport, and knock-on delays that continued into the afternoon.

The explosion took place when power was restored to the station after works had been carried out. No-one was injured, and there was no permanent damage to equipment.