South West Trains has apologised for a day of major rail delays yesterday.

There was disruption throughout the day after a man's death at Surbiton station was followed by broken-down trains, trespassing, a signal failure and staff shortages.

The man was struck and killed by a high-speed train at 7.30am, leading to the closure of all lines between Woking and Wimbledon.

Staff from the charity Samaritans were at Surbiton station this morning in response to his death.

Christian Neill, head of customer experience at the rail company, said: "After the person was hit by a train all lines had to close in both directions for 90 minutes to allow emergency services to conduct investigations. 

"We worked quickly to divert and alter trains to reduce further delays, however the lines between Wimbledon and Woking are essential for us to deliver a full train service. 

"Their closure led to significant disruption for both long-distance and suburban services. The displacement effect on train crew and trains was significant."

The disruption was compounded by a signalling failure at Surbiton at 4.30pm and a fault on the 2.57pm service from Poole to Waterloo.

Suburban services had returned to normal by 6pm, but at 6.20pm a train fault caused fresh delays between Waterloo and Wimbledon.

At 7pm a Reading to Waterloo train was delayed at Clapham Junction after a passenger broke an emergency exit panel.

There were also four separate trespass incidents on the network during the afternoon, said South West Trains.

Mr Neill said: "Many train crews were unable to reach their trains to begin or continue working, and the carriages for some evening peak departures were delayed coming into Waterloo and therefore delayed departing Waterloo.

"We appreciate how frustrating it is when your train service doesn't run as planned.  We are very sorry for the disruption you experienced yesterday. 

"We work very closely with the Samaritans and British Transport Police to help identify at-risk individuals to try to reduce the likelihood of incidents of the nature seen yesterday."