RAIL users in Carlisle are being urged to plan ahead as the line between the city and Kilmarnock prepares to close for engineering works.

Network Rail say more than two miles of new track will be laid, and drainage systems improved at locations along the line between Auchinleck and Dumfries during the project.

The works mean the line will be closed between north Cumbria and the west Scotland town this Saturday and Sunday, July 13 and 14, with a bus replacement service in place on both days.

Two railway bridges on the line will undergo refurbishment and strengthening works, with platform maintenance also taking place.

Buses will also replace trains between Kilmarnock and Dumfries from July 15 until July 25.

Lindsay Saddler, head of maintenance for Network Rail Scotland, said: “These upgrades are essential to maintaining a reliable service on the line, but they cannot be delivered without a short closure of the railway.

“Our engineers will be working around-the-clock to complete this complex programme as quickly as we possibly can as we understand the inconvenience these works will cause to some of our customers.”

The warnings come as a section of the west coast main line to set to close later this month.

Network Rail will upgrade track, cabling, overhead lines and signalling on the Acton Grange junction near Warrington between July 20 and August 4, with trains diverted during the works.