RAIL passengers on the York-London route are facing disrupted journeys for another nine days in the New Year, just weeks after the chaos caused by the closure of Kings Cross station for six days over the Christmas holidays.

Network Rail said a vital stage of work on another East Coast Upgrade project would take place between January 16 and 24, involving building a new section of railway at Werrington, north of Peterborough.

"Progress has been made to construct a new tunnel, which will allow slower freight services to dive under the East Coast Main Line instead of crossing it, making more space for additional passenger services," said a spokesperson.

"Over a nine-day period from Saturday, 16 to Sunday, 24 January, the concrete box structure, which will carry the new lines, will be pushed into place.

"This means there will be limited services on the East Coast Main Line between Grantham and Peterborough over this nine-day period, and some passengers may have to complete part of their journey by rail replacement services.

"People travelling to and from Scotland may additionally need to change trains at Newcastle during this time. All passengers who need to travel are strongly advised to plan their journeys in advance."

The East Coast Mainline is undergoing a £1.2 billion upgrade which will deliver improved reliability and punctuality for passengers and ensure the route has the capacity to deal with future passenger volumes.

In the days after Christmas, there will be no trains in or out of London King’s Cross. Most trains to and from the north will run to and from Peterborough or Stevenage instead, and connecting trains will run to and from St Pancras International.

Passengers travelling north from London are being advised to start their journey from St Pancras International