A PERSON was hit by a train overnight, causing major railway disruptions.

Emergency services were called to the incident between Chichester and Barnham at around 7.55pm on Monday, November 1.

Southern Rail announced that all lines were blocked between the two stations while emergency services dealt with the incident.

"It is with great sadness that we report a person has been hit by a train between Chichester and Barnham," a Southern Rail spokesman said.

British Transport Police and Network Rail employees were on scene to “help our passengers safely off the stuck train and away from the track”, the spokesman added.

Rail replacement buses were in operation, while passengers were originally warned that journey times could take up to 60 minutes longer than usual.

At 10.41pm, the Southern Rail spokesman said: “Lines will reopen shortly but there will be disruption until the end of the day as a number of trains and drivers are in the wrong place.”

At 12.32am on Tuesday, the disruptions were cleared – almost five hours after the incident was first reported.

Southern Rail said the incident caused “significant disruption” to services to and from Portsmouth and Southampton Central.

Those affected were able to use their tickets to complete their journey on South Western Railway between Portsmouth and London Waterloo, Stagecoach route 700 between Brighton and Portsmouth and Brighton and Hove buses between Brighton and Shoreham-by-Sea.

The Southern Rail spokesperson added: "We work closely with Samaritans and support the work they do.

"If you or someone close to you has been affected by this or any incident, there is always someone to talk to. Contact Samaritans on 116 123 free at any time, on any phone. Help and advice is only a phone call away.

"If your journey has been delayed by 15 mins or more, you can claim Delay Repay compensation which you can choose to donate to Samaritans to support their life-saving work."