A HUGE engineering project is set to affect thousands of Hampshire rail passengers over Christmas.

Buses will replace trains between Southampton Central and Southampton Airport Parkway stations during the work, which is due to start on Christmas Eve and last until New Year’s Day.

The line between Fareham and Southampton Central will also be closed as a result of the £8 million scheme.

More than 100 engineers are planning to replace 14 sets of points, renew about 200 metres of track and replace about 6,000 metres of cabling.

The work will be carried out near Mount Pleasant Road, next to the River Itchen.

Rail bosses say the project will make services through the city more reliable as well as reducing the noise made by trains.

But it will also result in major disruption for people planning to use the network over the Christmas break.

Chris Loder, head of service strategy for South Western Railway, said: “We encourage passengers to avoid travelling on Christmas Eve if they can and to be prepared for longer journey times between Christmas and New Year.

“We’re doing all we can to minimise disruption and make sure we get all our passengers to their destination over the festive period.

“People should check before travelling, either online or at one of our stations.”

Becky Lumlock, Network Rail’s route managing director, added: “We’re investing £8 million to give our passengers in and out of Southampton more reliable journeys. The new tracks will also mean less noise for our neighbours.”

“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.”

Some of the work will take place on Sunday, December 17, when trains between Southampton Central and Southampton Airport Parkway will be replaced by buses.

But most of the improvements will be carried out between December 24 and January 1.

During that time the line from Fareham to Southampton Central via Netley will also be closed, with buses replacing trains.

Buses will also operate between Southampton and other places affected by the line closure, including Brockenhurst, Bournemouth and Romsey. Cardiff to Portsmouth trains will be diverted via Eastleigh, calling additionally at Chandler’s Ford.

All lines and services are due to return to normal on Tuesday, January 2.