YORK rail passengers will be unable to travel to and from London for almost a week after Christmas as work continues on a £1.2 billion upgrade of the East Coast Main Line.

No services will be running to or from London King’s Cross from Christmas Day until Wednesday December 30, and services will also be reduced on Christmas Eve and between New Year's Eve and Sunday January 3.

There will also be more disruption to services before then, on Saturday November 21 and Sunday November 22, when engineers will install overhead line equipment and make further improvements to the signalling system.

Network Rails says this work can only be done safely when there are no trains in the area.

It said LNER services to/from the north will start/end at Peterborough, and rail replacement coaches will run between Peterborough and Bedford, where passengers can use Thameslink or East Midlands Railway services to/from London St Pancras.

Meanwhile no Grand Central services at all will run between York and King’s Cross.

Journeys to and from London will also take longer on Saturday and Sunday, November14 and 15, and on Saturday and Sunday, November 28 and 29, when work takes place to improve and replace sections of track, with trains between Doncaster and Peterborough being diverted via Lincoln.

Train operators are advising people to check their journey before travelling via National Rail Enquiries, at EastCoastUpgrade.co.uk or with their train operator.

Network Rail said major progress had been made in and around King’s Cross, including work towards the re-opening of a disused railway tunnel which would allow more trains to enter and exit the station, as well as improvements to the track and signalling.