A TRESPASSER on the railway line caused major disruption for passengers.

The person had to be removed by specialist police and large section of railway power lines turned off during the incident, which happened at Southampton Central on Monday night.

It caused widespread disruption at stations including Bournemouth and Poole, which continued until 2am.

South West Trains Service said the services affected were between Weymouth and Waterloo.

The incident unfolded at around 7pm and buses were arranged to run between Basingstoke and Southampton.

All lines were re-opened after the incident was resolved around 9pm, but there is a backlog of services.

South West Trains tweeting about the incident said power was restored at around 9.30pm.

A spokesman apologised for the disruption last night.

He said: “The trespasser on the line at a level crossing near Southampton has been removed from the area by specialist police and the power supply to the line has been restored.

“Trains are now on the move but have incurred severe delays.

“Trains and train crew are not in their scheduled locations so some services may be cancelled.

“Short notice alterations will be necessary while we return the service to normal.”

Hampshire Police said they could confirm there had been an incident which had been resolved, but were unable to give any further information.