TRAIN services were disrupted at Bournemouth railway station this afternoon due to a “safety inspection”.

Rail operator South Western Railway said the track was being inspected and all lines were blocked.

Disruption was initally expected until 5pm this afternoon but all lines were reopened by 2.30pm.

Posting on its website, South Western Railway said: “Due to a safety inspection of the track at Bournemouth, all lines are blocked.

“For further information or onward travel advice please speak to a member of staff or use a station help point.

“We are very sorry for any delay that this may cause to your journey.”

Giving an update, South Western Railway said: "We have now received an update from the team on-site & disruption to our services is now expected until 17:00.

"As the investigations are ongoing this may change but we will update you if it does."

Routes affected were the CrossCountry service between Bournemouth and Manchester Piccadilly and the South Western Railway service between Bournemouth and Winchester, and also between Weymouth and London Waterloo. 

A Network Rail spokesman said:  “We’re really sorry for the disruption to customers through Bournemouth this afternoon after we had to complete a safety inspection of the lines through the station.

“The lines were closed from 1315 to 1355 while we carried out the inspection and trains are now running again. Again, we’re really sorry for the delays to people’s journeys and we would advise customers to check before they travel for the next hour or so while we get trains back on time.”