NYC subway system comes briefly to a complete stop

New York City's subway system experienced a brief power outage Wednesday morning, grinding trains to a halt in the nation's biggest city.

Consolidated Edison, the city's power provider, told CBS New York station WCBS-TV that it experienced a "system voltage dip," like a brownout, around 9:45 a.m. and was investigating the cause.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates the system, confirmed to CBS News that the power went out for approximately five minutes but has since been restored.

WCBS-AM reports that all trains were operating normally late in the morning after the system-wide outage.

According to the MTA, 5.5 million people ride the system every day.