Dates for major improvement works to the rail network – which will see London King’s Cross closed over two weekend – have been announced as Network Rail encourage passengers to plan ahead.

Train operators on the East Coast Main Line, alongside Network Rail, have announced the planned works - including work to Stevenage's new fifth platform - will include two weekends when there will be no trains to or from London King's Cross.

As the £1.2 billion investment programme ramps up, passengers are being urged to plan ahead and check before travelling as there will be changes to services next year.

On Saturday and Sunday, January 25-26, and Saturday, February 29 and Sunday, March 1, no trains will be able to call at London King's Cross, with passengers urged not to travel to and from London on the East Coast Main Line to either King's Cross, St Pancras or Moorgate, including the Hertford Loop.

During this time, Network Rail will continue with work to construct an additional platform and install new track at Stevenage station.

Work will also take place to upgrade the power supply and overhead line equipment in and around King's Cross station and engineers will continue to relocate the signalling system to a state-of-the-art centre in York.

This work can only be carried out safely when no trains are running on this section of the railway.

There will also be five weekends of a reduced service. These dates are:

- January 5 and 6

- January 11 and 12

- January 18 and 19

- February 8 and 9

- February 15 and 16

- February 22 and 23

Services which do run on the above dates are likely to be very busy and passengers are advised to reserve a ticket for their journey where possible.

Ed Akers, principal programme sponsor for Network Rail, said: "Firstly, we would like to thank passengers for their patience so far and ask them to bear with us while the next stages of work take place.

"We're really sorry for the disruption this work will cause, but the East Coast Main Line is long overdue an upgrade. We're working to provide more seats and more frequent, reliable and faster journeys for the millions of people who use the line every year - and we can't do that without causing some disruption.

"We're doing our very best to keep passengers moving while the work is under way, but anyone using the line at weekends over the next couple of months should check before travelling."