By Patrick LowmanCOMMUTERS are braced for two weeks of travel disruption when a 15-mile railway line is closed for a major £2.5million engineering scheme.

By Patrick Lowman

COMMUTERS are braced for two weeks of travel disruption when a 15-mile railway line is closed for a major £2.5million engineering scheme.

Train operator One has announced the Sudbury to Marks Tey line will close for two weeks in the summer for track renewal work.

It means the hundreds of commuters who use the line every day will have to rely on replacement bus services or make alternative travel arrangements.

A One spokesman said: “Wherever we can, we try to carry out work in the evenings or at weekends to minimise disruptions, but in this particular instance it is sensible to close the entire line for a period of two weeks.

“Although there will be disruptions for this period of time, passengers would face disruptions over a much longer period if we phased the work that is needed.

“We will be providing alternative bus services while the work is being carried out, so the passengers should be able to carry on with their usual travel arrangements.”

The work, to be carried out by Network Rail, will replace three miles of ageing track between the Chappel viaduct and Bures.

A Network Rail spokesman said: “The track on this part of the line has been there for many years. Its use has expired and needs replacing.

“At the moment we have what is known as a jointed track, but that will be replaced with a continuous welded track that will reduce the noise to people living nearby and improve the efficiency of the service to passengers.”

The work on the line will take place between July 9 and 23. The replacement buses will run between Sudbury and Marks Tey 20 minutes earlier than the usual scheduled train services.

The buses will stop at Bures train station and at a stop opposite Chappel and Wakes Colne station. In peak hours there will also be a non-stop bus service between Sudbury and Marks Tey.

patrick.lowman@eadt.co.uk