LATE-NIGHT trains on the Chiltern Line between Oxfordshire and London are to be replaced by buses from next month to help engineers complete work to speed up the route.

From Monday, June 6, until Thursday, August 18, five northbound services leaving London Marylebone after 10pm and three southbound services leaving Banbury after 9.30pm will be affected.

Engineering teams are already working overnight on the £250m Chiltern Mainline project, but they only have a four-hour window to work on the line. The suspension of the late-night trains will give the engineers an extra two hours of productive time and reduce the need to close the line at weekends over the summer.

However, there will be major alterations to Chiltern’s services from Saturday, August 13, until Saturday, August 27, when the project enters the final commissioning phase. Trains will be diverted to run to and from London Paddington, or to Didcot Parkway, for connections to Paddington, during this period.

Adrian Shooter, the chairman of Chiltern Railways, said: “We have done all we can to minimise weekday closures, but have not been able to avoid them completely.

“We are always very sorry to do anything that will disappoint our passengers, especially as we move into the summer months, however, we want our passengers to experience the benefits of faster journey times as soon as possible and this is the lowest risk route to achieve that.”

The Chiltern Mainline project was due for completion this month, but it was decided in February to allow extra time for the work, in order to avoid the risk of disruption to passengers’ journeys at short notice.

A speeded-up timetable will be launched at the start of September, bringing Banbury within an hour of London.

For more information, see the Chiltern Railways website or call 08456 005165.