TRAIN chaos hit the South again today after a freight service transporting dangerous goods was derailed outside Eastleigh.

A Freightliner wagon overturned just outside the town's station as it made its way towards Southampton at around 11pm last night.

The fire service was called out to the scene of the derailment, amid fears that dangerous chemicals may have been contained in the wagon.

Although the rest of the train - which was travelling at 15mph at the time of the accident - remained upright, the debris is not expected to be moved until mid-afternoon today.

Railtrack has brought in a rail crane from London to lift the wreckage off the down line which remains blocked.

It is thought the derailment of the 18.46 service from East London to Southampton docks was caused by a damaged axle on the wagon, which was found not to have contained any chemicals.

A spokesman for Eastleigh fire brigade, which sent out two appliances to the scene, said: "There were some dangerous goods on that particular train.

"We were not told what they were. They were possibly chemicals. Fortunately they were not involved and were at the other end of the train which was shunted into the sidings."

The derailment meant delays for hundreds of frustrated travellers overnight.

This morning, services were running between Southampton and Waterloo, but after 9.30am work started on removing the stricken carriage.

The work was expected to see the line from the capital between Eastleigh and Southampton closed for five hours.

Travellers returning from London can either travel to Eastleigh and take a connecting bus service to Southampton or, for longer journeys through the South, take a re-routed service through Havant and Fareham.

A spokesman for Railtrack said today: "We will be lifting the train off the tracks during the course of this morning and into the afternoon.

"We will be repairing track damage and expect to have the line open this evening. We will be restoring the rest of the track overnight."