RAILWAY services across Scotland will be cancelled over the festive period amid a £15 million investment.

Network Rail has said no LNER or Cross Country trains will run north of Edinburgh on Christmas Day and Boxing Day due to rail replacement works.

LNER trains will also not run north of Edinburgh on New Years' Day, due to track work in Dundee.

Transpennine Express services between Carlisle and Edinburgh will not run on Christmas Day and Boxing Day those days due to the works, with Avanti West Coast services between the two being replaced by buses.

Works on a junction near Falkirk will see disruptions to service north of the central belt from the late hours of Christmas Eve until the early morning of January 2.

Train services between Aberdeen and Inverness and the central belt will terminate at Perth and Stirling, with Glasgow Queen Street to Alloa services diverted via Cumbernauld and Edinburgh to Glasgow via Falkirk High services diverted via Falkirk Grahamston.

A replacement bus service will run between Glasgow and Stirling, with opportunities to change trains at Stirling.

On January 2, signalling upgrades will see services on the West Highland from Fort William, Mallaig and Oban terminate at Crianlarich, with shuttle buses completing the journey to Glasgow Queen Street.

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Due to the same upgrades, services to Helensburgh Central will terminate at Dumbarton Central, while Highland Sleeper services on the West Highland line will not run.

Gerry McQuade, capital delivery director for Network Rail Scotland, said: “Our work over the festive period is designed to protect the railway infrastructure and improve passengers’ experience when travelling by train.

“We are pleased to be able to deliver most of this work without any impact on services as it’s being carried out when trains are not running. We are, however, urging passengers to plan ahead and check their journey in advance.”

David Simpson, ScotRail service delivery director, said: “We know that improvement works can be an inconvenience to customers, but we’ll be doing everything we can to keep people moving to help them make the most of the festive period.

“We’re encouraging customers to leave extra time for travel, and plan journeys in advance. Customers can find out more about our alternative travel plan and what it means for their own journey by visiting the ScotRail website or by downloading our free mobile app.”

National Rail has advised passengers to check their journeys here or on individual operators' websites.