Councillors have suggested travellers should go on holiday this summer – a long way from Birmingham.

Train users going from Birmingham to London are facing a month of misery when parts of the West Coast Mainline close for £81 million engineering works

A series of upgrades to junctions and signals outside Watford will be carried out between August 9 and 25, and travellers are being urged to prepare for the worst.

And it has already been announced that the city’s Queensway tunnels will also be closed at the same time.

Managing director of train company London Midland Patrick Verwer issued the warning as he appeared before Birmingham City Council’s transport watchdog committee.

He said: “We have some major engineering works in the Watford area this summer. We are talking about major blockade on the West Coast Mainline. The line will be closed for 16 days.”

He said that the train operating companies are still talking to Network Rail over the closures and that some of the details might change as a result.

Committee members pointed out that the A38 Birmingham Queensway Tunnels will also be closed during the summer and suggested that travellers would be advised to take a holiday at that time.

Network Rail, which is carrying out the work, said that Watford Junction will also be closed over the bank holiday weekend of May 3-5, and there will be further closures at Christmas and early 2015.