Passengers warned of Christmas train disruption

Work will take place from Christmas and into the new year

Train passengers are being warned of significant disruption to their journeys over Christmas and into the new year.

Network Rail is carrying out a £26m upgrade to the railway junction across all four main lines at Hanslope in Northamptonshire.

Between 24 December and 5 January there will be no trains on the West Coast Main Line between Milton Keynes and Northampton or Rugby, with rail replacement buses in operation.

The company said it was part of an investment of £196m by Network Rail to make journeys more reliable for passengers and freight.

Network Rail said teams would be replacing large sections of track and the stone foundations beneath the lines at the junction, near Milton Keynes.

It said more than 12,500 tonnes of new stone would be laid, and more than 130 new track panels would be installed.

"Some track panels will be built off-site and others will be assembled directly on location. Specialist machinery will be used to lift and position the new track, and we'll be working across all four railway lines in the area," Network Rail said on its website.

The company is carrying out work in tracks on the West Coast Main Line

Platform improvement work at both Milton Keynes and Wolverton stations was expected to take place at the same time, when no trains would be running from there.

Network Rail said people living near the railway might notice "increased activity... including overnight work and deliveries of materials".

"We'll do our best to keep noise and disruption to a minimum," they said.