British Transport Police have confirmed two people were “taken to a place of safety” after searches sparked train delays.

Services between Watford Junction and Milton Keynes Central were unable to run or were significantly delayed from yesterday evening (March 13) to 1am this morning.

British Transport Police had been called to the tracks near Apsley railway station just after 5.45pm to “reports of a concern for welfare”.

Trains were held while a search was conducted but no one was located. 

London Northwestern Railway(LNR) has confirmed that the lines were reopened at 7pm.

It appeared that services were set to return to normal quickly, however disruption ended up lasting until the end of the day after the time to clear was repeatedly pushed back.

At around 10.30pm British Transport Police were called with concerns for the welfare of two people at Milton Keynes Central.

Another search was carried out and this time the pair were located and taken to place of safety.

This did not impact trains, according to LNR.

The same route was disrupted again this morning as fewer trains were able to run between Milton Keynes Central and Tring this morning due to “urgent repairs to the track” being required.

The damage was apparently not related to either incident last night.

Trains between Watford Junction and Milton Keynes pass through Tring and Apsley.