No Norwich to London weekend trains for two months Published duration 20 January 2015

image caption Abellio Greater Anglia said it would do all it could to minimise inconvenience to passengers

No weekend train services will run from Norwich to London for two months because of a £15m rail upgrade.

The line will be affected between 31 January and 22 March, with no trains running between Manningtree and Shenfield.

Abellio Great Anglia will operate a replacement bus service.

Richard Schofield, Network Rail route managing director, said the work was "absolutely vital" to deliver a better service for passengers.

"We know that people want to travel by train and not a bus, but the line from London Liverpool Street to Norwich carries a huge amount of traffic and desperately needs this boost," Mr Schofield said.

He said the improvements would create a "more consistent and reliable service".

However, Bruce Williamson from Railfuture, which campaigns for better services for passengers and freight, said although the group recognised the work was "very badly needed", disruption involving bus substitution was "very unpopular" with passengers.

"Whilst some passengers have the option of travelling by train via Cambridge, this is another example of the lack of resilience in the railway because there are no alternative routes available."

Jamie Burles, Abellio Greater Anglia managing director, said the company would be doing all it could to "minimise inconvenience to passengers".