Rail services on the Weymouth-Waterloo line which have been disrupted by a train derailment will not be back to normal until Monday, it has emerged.

South Western Railway said passengers should be expecting delays, cancellations and diverted train journeys due to the blockage.

This comes after travellers have already faced two days of cancelled and delayed trains across the region due to a freight train derailing at Eastleigh Station.

A Network Rail spokesman said: "The railway through Eastleigh remains closed and we apologise to passengers for the ongoing disruption.

"We now expect the majority of services to run from the morning of Monday 3 February, but continue to do everything possible to open the railway sooner. 

"We are dealing with a complex situation involving the derailment of six wagons that has taken much longer than was initially expected.

"Following the derailment there is extensive damage to the track and our engineers are working around the clock to get the railway back open as quickly and as safely as possible.

"To do this we are installing temporary track and will make alterations to the signalling and power supply as the full repair will take more time. Passengers should continue to check before travelling."

A South Western Railway spokesperson said that while the wagons were expected to be re-railed by 6pm yesterday, disruption is expected to last "a lot longer than that" as the structural damage of the rail is accessed.

In a statement made on the SWR website, they said: "Due to the derailment of a freight train between Southampton Central and Winchester all lines are blocked. Train services running through these stations will be cancelled, delayed or diverted via Havant.

"All stations between Winchester and Southampton Central will not be served and disruption is expected until the end of the day (30/01/2020)."

 The large freight train derailed from the tracks at Eastleigh Station at 11.32am on Tuesday and commuters have been facing long delays and cancellations ever since.

It is not yet know what the cause of the derailment was and Network Rail are still investigating the incident.

Ex railway worker Derik Everson saw the incident took place and was one of the first people to contact the police.

The 73-year-old said: "I was walking on the road outside the station and saw that as it pulled away from the station normally, all of a sudden it started to come off the track.

"The sound was horrendous and there was lots of smoke.

"The driver did well to stop and control it but now so many trains are cancelled because the lines are closed."