GENEVA, June 22: Switzerland’s entire state railway network came grinding to a halt on Wednesday following a power failure that left about 100,000 people stranded at the height of the rush-hour.

Practically all trains in the country, which takes great pride in the efficency of its public transport system, were at a standstill, a railway spokesman said.

“We have a power failure, a problem with power regulation,” he said.

“The problem started towards 6pm and we are trying to find the source,” he added.

About 100,000 people were thought to be stranded on trains on a hot summer evening, Swiss television SF1 reported, although most travellers were able to leave halted trains an hour after the incident.

Travellers were being advised to listen to the radio or seek advice from extra personnel drafted into stations.

The spokesman said he could not recall a failure on a similar nationwide scale before and the incident was described as “absolutely extraordinary”.

The problem first occurred in southern Switzerland following a drop in the 15,000 volt power supply that spread to the rest of the system, SBB said.

Hundreds of people were crammed onto platforms at the main station in the western city of Geneva, many of them reading quietly or chatting while waiting for services to resume.

“I’ve been taking the train every day for about a year and it’s the first time this has happened to me. It’s not a disaster,” said one traveller.

Outside the station, taxis were being snapped up as soon as they arrived, while a free drink was being offered to ticket holders in the station buffet.

Some diesel-powered trains were being put into service to shunt trains to the nearest stations, SBB said. —AFP