Kolkata, June 22 (IANS) Train services were disrupted for over two hours in West Bengal Tuesday morning following a bomb scare, an official said.

The authorities pressed the panic button after the driver of a freight train reported hearing a blast between Gidhni and Khatkura railway stations in West Midnapore district.

The freight train, however, crossed the stretch unharmed.

With the area a Maoist bastion, train movement was stopped on the Kharagpur-Adra and Kharagpur-Rourkela sections, a spokesman for the South Eastern Railway said.

"We did not want to take any risk as the spot of the May 28 Gyaneshwari Express derailment was only 32 km away," another official said.

Security personnel who searched the area found nothing amiss. Train services resumed at around 9.40 a.m.

Because of the scare, several long distance and local trains were detained at various stations. Among these were the Howrah-Mumbai Mail, Azad Hind Express and Tata Steel Express.