NEW YORK - An hour-long blackout hit Manhattan's Upper East Side and the Bronx on Wednesday, affecting buildings and subway lines, the city's power and transport officials said.

Several subway lines shut down and many buildings in the area lost electricity just before 4:00 pm.

When the blackout hit, several subway lines ground to a halt above 59th Street.

Trains could reach stations to allow passengers to disembark even though the signal system was down, said New York City Transit spokesman Deirdre Parker.

The blackout was traced to a faulty transformer in the Bronx Borough. It affected 130,000 users in the Bronx and Manhattan's Upper East Side, said Lisa Schulman, spokeswoman for the city's emergency services.

"Due to severe weather conditions, many customers are without service," said a Con Edison power company answering machine. It was the second day of temperatures above 35 degrees C (95 degrees F) for the city.

The company said other blackouts affected the Bronx Borough and the northern suburb of White Plains.

In August 2003, a widespread blackout lasting 24 hours hit New York city, and in the summer of 2006 a large portion of the Queens Borough lost power for several days. - AFP/ir