Train services in Cumbria will be disrupted next month due to engineering work in the area.

Between September 7 and 9, replacement buses will be running on sections of the Carlisle to Barrow and Barrow to Lancaster routes.

The engineering work is being done as part of Network Rail's £4.5million to safeguard the Cumbrian coastline against climate change by upgrading the Eskmeals viaduct.

Read more: Network Rail to safeguard Cumbrian coast with upgrade | The Mail (nwemail.co.uk)

Across those three days, buses will replace trains between Barrow and Ulverston, and between Barrow, Millom, Sellafield and Whitehaven.

Trains will continue to run between Manchester, Preston, Lancaster and Ulverston, and Sellafield, Whitehaven and Carlisle.

Between Tuesday, September 10 and Sunday, September 22, buses will also replace the usual train services between Millom and Whitehaven.

In that period, trains will still operate between Manchester, Preston, Lancaster and Barrow, Millom and Barrow, and Sellafield, Whitehaven and Carlisle.

The multi million pound project the Eskmeals viaduct will see hardwood timber beams replaced with material which will double the life expectancy from 25 to 50 years, improving the structure of the track and making it more robust.

In the long term, this will lessen disruption for passengers due to reduced maintenance needs.

Network Rail explained that the work was vital due to the fact that climate change, with more intense storms, greater rain fall, and rising sea levels, is putting the viaduct under more pressure.

The work means the viaduct will be closed to trains for sixteen days between Friday 6 and Monday, September 23.

Craig Harrop, regional director for Northern, said: "All investment in railway infrastructure is to be welcomed – particularly so when it supports the reliability of services in the long term.

"Rail replacement buses will help customers get where they want to be in the short term – and I’d like to thank them for their understanding whilst this important work takes place."