RAIL passengers will face significant disruption over the festive period when train services between Bournemouth and the New Forest are suspended for 11 days over Christmas and New Year.

Services between New Milton and Branksome will be halted between December 24 and January 4 to enable engineers to carry out essential maintenance to two viaducts near Christchurch.

And the work will also affect services from Bournemouth station.

The work will start on the evening of Christmas Eve, with no trains, on Christmas Day or Boxing Day, as per normal.

Between December 27 to January 1, there will be replacement buses between Bournemouth and Brockenhurst, with alterations to trains towards Weymouth.

The work is likely to affect Cherries supporters travelling by train to the AFC Bournemouth game at Arsenal on December 28.

Buses will then run between Bournemouth and Southampton on January 2 and 3.

The bridges, which carry the high-speed line over the rivers Avon and Stour, are near Christchurch station.

Proposed improvements will enable the current speed limit between Hinton Admiral and Christchurch to be lifted, allowing trains to travel at a top speed of 60mph.

A drop-in session will be held in Christchurch next month to enable Network Rail staff to explain the proposals and the likely impact on commuters.

Project manager Michele Swan said: “Speed restrictions were introduced as both these viaducts are around 130 years old and there were concerns that trains travelling a full speed could damage the track support system.

“This essential maintenance work will not only allow us to lift that restriction but will also extend the lifespan of these historic structures.”

The 12-month project is scheduled to start next month, but the bulk of the work will not be carried out until late December.

Ms Swan added: “We would like to reassure people that we are doing everything we can to minimise the disruption that this project will cause.

“We appreciate there will still be an impact on residents and would encourage anyone who is concerned to come to the drop-in session to find out more."

Measures to lessen the impact include acoustic screens and limiting noisy operations to day-time working only where possible.

The drop-in session will be held at the Druitt Hall in Christchurch High Street on September 7 between 3.30pm and 8pm.

South West Trains said they would run "a very thorough campaign for passengers" explaining all the impacts.