RAIL passengers in Cumbria are being warned of potential disruption. 

Engineers will start work on the West Coast main line at Oxenholme and on the Windermere branch line at 5.15am on Saturday and the lines will reopen at noon on Monday.

The work is being completed as part of a scheme to replace track and improve the layout through Oxenholme station. The essential upgrade will pave the way for more reliable services for passengers in future.

Martin Frobisher, route director at Network Rail, said: “The work at Oxenholme to replace life expired track will improve the track layout in the area, making it easier to maintain. This will lead to more reliable services for passengers in the future.

“There is never an ideal time to close the railway and I appreciate there will be some disruption as a result of this work. Bank holidays are typically much quieter times on the railway and we plan the work to cause the least amount of disruption to the fewest number of people. I’d like to thank passengers for their patience while we carry out this investment to provide a better railway.”

Nationally over 9,000 members of Network Rail’s orange army will be working round-the-clock over the long weekend to deliver vital elements of the company’s Railway Upgrade Plan, which will provide a bigger, better, more reliable railway for passengers and businesses across Britain.

A total of £30m will be invested over three days to renew track, upgrade signalling systems and help boost the capacity of the network so more trains can run in future. The work has been planned to minimise disruption, as passenger numbers typically drop by more than half during a bank holiday. The overwhelming majority of journeys will be unaffected by engineering work.

Improvements at Oxenholme will continue at night times and other times when trains are not running until the end of August.