Storm paralyzes Swedish train traffic, causes power failures for households

Tens of thousands of Swedish households were without power on Friday as a storm swept the south of the country.

The storm paralyzed train traffic south of Stockholm on Friday and caused up to 45,000 households to lose their electricity, public broadcaster Swedish Television reported.

"The staff of the Transport Administration will be clearing the tracks after the storm during the night and in the morning," train operator SJ's spokesman Dan Olofsson told news agency TT.

Regular train services would not resume until early afternoon on Saturday, Swedish Television reported.

Drivers in several southern Swedish regions were advised not to use the roads, while some highways were shut down entirely due to the weather.

Authorities shut down traffic on several bridges in the western city of Gothenburg on Friday evening, while ferry routes remained closed in several parts of the country.

Last week, winds that nearly reached hurricane speeds caused power failures for up to 75,000 southern Swedish households. Endit