Northern Rail services are being affected by the works Pic: 70023venus2009

You won’t be able to get from Preston to Blackpool by train at a weekend for ten weeks.

Network Rail is carrying out work to electrify the line between the mainline stations.

From Saturday 21 January there will be no trains between Preston and Blackpool North or Blackpool South, and no trains in the other direction either.

Replacement buses are being put on instead.

A full breakdown of the weekends affected:

Saturday 21 January and Sunday 22 January
Saturday 28 January and Sunday 29 January
Saturday 4 February and Sunday 5 Februry
Saturday 11 February and Sunday 12 February
Trains resume on the weekend of Saturday 18 February and Sunday 19 February
Saturday 25 February and Sunday 26 February
Saturday 4 March and Sunday 5 March
Saturday 11 March and Sunday 12 March
Saturday 18 March and Sunday 19 March
Saturday 25 March and Sunday 26 March
Saturday 1 April and Sunday 2 April

Services return to normal on the weekend of Saturday 8 April.

Read more: Bike hub opens at Preston Station

Regional Director of Northern Sharon Keith said: “This essential upgrade of the route between Preston and Blackpool is key to help us develop better journeys for our customers. Our advice is to remind customers to check before they travel and we’d like to thank customers in advance for their patience while we work together to improve services.”