Major work to renew the junction connecting the railway line between Watford Junction and St Albans Abbey and the West Coast Main Line will start later this month. 

The work is part of a £81m project to deliver a more reliable railway between Milton Keynes and London Euston.

For four weeks the Abbey Line will close to allow engineers to also modernise the signalling equipment on this part of the network. 

Jim Syddall, acting route managing director for Network Rail, said: "The section of track through Watford Junction is one of the most intensively used, high-speed pieces of railway in Britain and has seen tremendous growth in traffic and passengers over the last five years.

"A key part of the scheme to upgrade the track and signalling through Watford includes the renewal of the junction which connects the Abbey Line to the West Coast Main Line.

"To achieve this, without having to significantly disrupt services on the West Coast Main Line, we need to close the Abbey line for four weeks. When the work is completed, the junction which is currently manually operated will be mechanised and operated with more modern technology.

"There is never a good time to close the railway and we apologise for the inconvenience this will cause but this work is essential to maintain reliable train services for passengers who travel on the Abbey line."

The Abbey line will be closed from 7.40pm on November 29 until 5.54pm on December 29. Buses will replace trains and will run between Watford Junction and St Albans City train stations, stopping at all Abbey Line stations.