A series of rail infrastructure projects are set to take place over the festive period which will impact services in the West Midlands and north of England.
Network Rail said the work was being carried out during the traditional shutdown from the end of service on Christmas Eve until it resumes on December 27 in order to minimise disruption but urged passengers to plan ahead.
There is other work planned which could impact journeys outside of this time frame.
Several projects will cause parts of the railway to be closed, meaning busier trains, longer journey times and rail replacement in operation.
The government body, which is responsible for the UK's rail infrastructure, said the work would lead to a more reliable railway network in 2023.
The planned work includes:
- Manchester Piccadilly closed entirely between Christmas Day and December 27 for roof repairs
- Platforms 13 and 14 at Piccadilly will be closed between Christmas Day and January 3 for resurfacing work. As a result, there will only be one direct hourly service between Piccadilly and Manchester Airport
- Major bridge renewals are planned on the West Coast Main Line in Camden and Milton Keynes, impacting journeys between Rugby and Milton Keynes on December 27 and 28 and January 1
- The entire Birmingham New Street signalling system is being switched to digital, completing the West Midlands' £700 million, 17-year-long resignalling programme. Switchover and final testing will take place between last service on Christmas Eve and December 27
- Journeys across the North between Manchester and York will also be disrupted by ongoing work on the Transpennine Route upgrade. This will impact journeys between Leeds and Huddersfield from December 31 until January 3 while work continues to deliver a new station at Morley.
Tim Shoveller, managing director of Network Rail's North West and Central region, said: "While people enjoy time with their friends and families over Christmas, thousands of Network Rail staff will be working round-the-clock to maintain and improve the railway to provide passengers with better, more reliable journeys in the New Year.
"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 Christmas and other bank holidays.
"I appreciate people have important plans so I urge them to please plan ahead and check before they travel for the latest journey information."
