RAIL users in the county have been warned of further disruption on the west coast mainline and to check before travelling this week.

It comes after thousands of staff from Network Rail worked round the clock between Christmas Eve and December 27 to carry out a number of upgrades on the line, which runs from London Euston via Oxenholme Lake District, Penrith and Carlisle to Glasgow.

While some services were cancelled and re-routed when the engineering works were carried out last week, a fresh round of works is set to affect Cumbrians travelling from the county to the capital in the coming days.

Track will also be replaced, and a foot crossing will be renewed near Warrington between New Year’s Day and January 2.

The work will affect services on Avanti West Coast.

The operator has said a “limited service” will run between London Euston and Glasgow Central, with some trains diverted via Manchester Piccadilly rather than travelling through Crewe, Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western and Preston.

A spokesman from Avanti said replacement buses will be provided between Crewe in Cheshire and Preston in Lancashire.

Tim Shoveller, managing director of Network Rail’s north west and central region, said: “While people enjoyed time with their friends and families over Christmas, thousands of Network Rail staff worked tirelessly to maintain and improve the railway to provide passengers with better, more reliable journeys.

“I thank passengers and our lineside neighbours for their patience while we carried out this vital work to secure the future of our network as part of our multi-billion-pound Railway Upgrade Plan.

“I know there is never a good time to disrupt journeys while we carry out large pieces of work but whenever possible we do this at times when there are significantly fewer people travelling by train, such as over Christmas and the New Year.

“I appreciate people have important plans so I urge them to please plan ahead and check before they travel for the latest journey information.”

Passengers whose journeys could be affected are being urged to check before travelling at www.nationalrail.co.uk or with their train operator.