THOUSANDS of rail passengers face disruption over Christmas when major engineering work takes place.

South Western Railway has announced that the line between Southampton Airport Parkway and Southampton Central will be closed between December 24 and January 1.

Buses will replace trains between Southampton Central and Southampton Airport Parkway, affecting journeys between London, Bournemouth, Poole and Weymouth.

Passengers are being urged to avoid travelling on Christmas Eve and be prepared for longer journey times between Christmas and New Year.

The work is part of an £8 million investment to renew railway infrastructure in Southampton, giving passengers more reliable journeys and reducing track noise for lineside neighbours.

More than 100 engineers and track staff will be working shifts 24 hours a day to replace 6,000m of cabling and 200m of track.

Journeys on Sunday, December 10 and Sunday, December 17 will also be affected by the work and passengers are advised to check times and travel arrangements in advance.

Chris Loder, head of service strategy for South Western Railway, said: “The line is closed at Southampton and our timetable for Hampshire and Dorset will change over Christmas and some weekends in December and January.

“We’re doing all we can to minimise disruption and make sure we get all our passengers to their destination over the festive period. Please check before travelling, either online or at one of our stations.”

Becky Lumlock, Network Rail’s route managing director, said: “This is a busy part of the network with around 164,000 trains passing over these tracks in the last year alone. The kit is worn-out and old and it’s vital we replace it now to avoid significant future disruption to our passengers.

“We thank people for their patience in advance and apologise for the disruption this will cause. We know there’s never a good time to do this and that’s why my team will be working 24 hours a day, from Christmas Eve to New Year’s Day to deliver this as quickly as possible.”