Passengers have been advised to plan ahead and allow extra time for their journeys.

Planned engineering works between Leicester and Peterborough as well as Bedford/Luton and London St Pancras, will cause disruption to rail travel this weekend (May 10 and 11).

Over the weekend, there will be rail replacement buses running between Leicester and Peterborough.

This is due to Oakham station and level crossing being closed as Network Rail renews the railway track in this area to provide smoother journeys for passengers and avoid future maintenance disruption. The footbridge at Oakham station will remain open during this work.

For CrossCountry, buses will replace trains between Leicester and Peterborough, calling at Melton Mowbray, Oakham and Stamford.

On Saturday 10 May, EMR’s 5:00am Nottingham to Norwich train will start later at 5:25am, and not call at East Midlands Parkway, Loughborough, Melton Mowbray, Oakham or Stamford. It will then run as scheduled from Peterborough to Norwich. There will be a rail replacement bus service between Nottingham and Peterborough calling at missing stations.

The 6:08am Nottingham to Norwich train will start at 06.37am, and not call at East Midlands Parkway, Loughborough, Melton Mowbray, Oakham or Stamford. It will then run as scheduled from Peterborough to Norwich. There will be a rail replacement bus service between Nottingham and Peterborough calling at missing stations.

On Sunday 11 May, the following additional EMR trains will run:

- The 8:15am Nottingham to Grantham, arriving at Grantham at 08:48am

- The 13:25pm Nottingham to Peterborough, calling at Grantham 13:58pm, arriving in Peterborough at 14:25pm.

The work at Oakham station will be completed the following weekend, Saturday May 17-18, with buses replacing CrossCountry trains between Leicester/Melton Mowbray/Oakham and Peterborough all weekend.

There will also be disruption to passengers who may be travelling between Luton and London.

The work south of Luton involves upgrading overhead lines, which power trains, as part of the wider scheme to electrify the line between London and Bedford, allowing East Midlands Railway's (EMR) bi-mode trains to run up to 125mph in the future.

On Saturday May 10, EMR will run an amended timetable between Sheffield/Nottingham/Corby and Luton. There will be a rail replacement bus service running between Luton and Hitchin to connect with Great Northern/Thameslink services to London.

On Sunday May 11, EMR will have an amended timetable between Sheffield/Nottingham/Corby and Luton, with a reduced service operating between Corby and Luton. There will be a rail replacement bus service running between Luton and Hitchin to connect with Great Northern/Thameslink services to London.

No Thameslink services will run between Luton and West Hampstead Thameslink on Saturday or Sunday. Trains between Bedford and Luton, and between West Hampstead Thameslink and Three Bridges/Horsham/Brighton will run to an amended timetable.

Rail replacement buses will run between:

- Luton and Harpenden

- Luton Airport Parkway and Hitchin via Luton (for connection to trains at Hitchin)

- Harpenden and Potters Bar via St Albans City (for connection to trains at Potters Bar)

- Harpenden and West Hampstead Thameslink