National Rail has apologised for the "significant disruption" to journeys to and from London Waterloo that occurred following concerns for an individual in New Malden.

The incident took place on Monday, August 19, at 2.30pm, when reports of an urgent concern for a person in New Malden led to a large-scale police search operation.

In response, power to all four railway lines in the area was switched off, halting services until 4.30pm.

The stoppage led to trains and their crews being displaced across much of the network, making it difficult to operate services in and out of London Waterloo.

The disruption was so severe that it continued until the end of the day.

National Rail expressed its sincere apologies for the disruption, acknowledging that the incident may have made conditions at stations and on-board trains “very uncomfortable”, leaving many passengers struggling to complete their journeys.

A spokesperson for National Rail said: “We're very sorry for the significant disruption that affected journeys to and from London Waterloo yesterday, Monday 19 August.

“At around 2.30pm we received reports of an immediate concern for an individual in the New Malden area, which led to police carrying out a major search operation.

“Power to all four lines was switched off until approximately 4.30pm.

“As services through this busy area were stopped for two hours, trains and their crews were displaced across most of our network, and it was very difficult to operate services to and from London Waterloo.

“The disruption was so significant that it lasted until the end of the day.

“We know that this made conditions at some of our stations and on board some of our trains very uncomfortable, and customers may have struggled to complete their journeys.

“We would like to sincerely apologise for the disruption and any distress that yesterday's incident caused.”