RAIL users have been warned to brace themselves for festive misery as train services are disrupted.

Passengers are being advised to check train timetables as they will be changed to accommodate a raft of engineering works.

Network Rail said an army of engineers will be spending their Christmas Day and the following days installing more than 11km of new overhead lines between Ilford and Shenfield.

It is hoped the work will help to improve reliability for passengers travelling from north Essex to London.

Network Rail will also continue to upgrade the railway between Forest Gate and Shenfield in preparation for the Crossrail service.

The work means there will be changes to Abellio Greater Anglia services.

Trains on the Liverpool Street line will stop at 10pm on Christmas Eve and there will be no train service at all on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

On Sunday December 27 and on Monday December 28, services from Colchester will end at Ingatestone and a bus replacement service will operate to Newbury Park underground station for connections to Stratford and Liverpool Street.

From Tuesday December 29 to Thursday December 31, all services will operate a revised timetable and passengers are warned journey times will be longer.

And on New Year's Day and January 2 and 3, trains will again terminate at Ingatestone and a bus replacement service will be laid on.

Richard Schofield, Network Rail route managing director, said: “This Christmas and New Year, our orange army will be working around the clock to provide more reliable journeys for millions of passengers who use this essential rail artery every year.

“The number of people travelling by rail continues to grow to record levels and this Christmas and New Year’s investment programme forms a key part of our Railway Upgrade Plan to meet this demand.

“Some of the major work we need to carry out can’t be done overnight and we need a longer period of time to complete these jobs.

"We would like to thank passengers in advance for bearing with us as it could mean some changes to their travel plans.”

* For more information, go to www.abelliogreateranglia.co.uk.