Travellers planning to use the region's rail network over the Christmas period are facing major delays and disruption because of engineering works.

Rail chiefs are urging passengers to think ahead as they carry out the works as part of the nationwide Railway Upgrade Plan.

Signalling equipment in the Birmingham New Street area is more than 50 years old and needs replacing, Network Rail says.

From 9.30pm on Saturday December 23, 2017, to 4am on Wednesday January 3, 2018, engineers will be replacing a major junction near Smethwick.

They will also be bringing into use new signalling equipment on routes between Birmingham and Wolverhampton via Sandwell & Dudley and Aston.

This will affect train services between New Street and Rugeley Trent Valley after 9.30pm on December 23.

Trains between New Street and Wolverhampton, and on the Cross City line between Redditch and Lichfield, will be affected between December 27 and January 2.

Specific changes to train services in the West Midlands include:

• Virgin Trains and Cross Country services between New Street and Wolverhampton will be diverted, meaning slightly longer journey times

• Virgin Trains will operate a reduced service to London from December 27 and customers at Wolverhampton will have to change trains at New Street or Stafford to get to the capital. It also will not call at Sandwell & Dudley.

• Certain other trains between New Street and Wolverhampton will be diverted and buses will call at intermediate stations

• Services on the Cross City line will be three trains per hour instead of six but these will have six carriages instead of three

• Arriva Trains Wales services will start and terminate at Wolverhampton, affecting services from Mid Wales to Birmingham via Shrewsbury and Telford

Richard Dugdale, Network Rail's senior scheme sponsor for the work, said: "Half the normal number of people travel by train at Christmas and new year so we are seizing the opportunity to complete a huge amount of signalling and track upgrades.

"That way, we cause the least amount of disruption to the fewest number of people.

"Train passengers should check before they travel on nationalrail.co.uk and allow extra time for their journeys."

The £246 million scheme is part of a wider programme worth more than £600 million to upgrade signalling across the West Midlands including Bromsgrove, Wolverhampton, Walsall, Coventry and on the route between Stourbridge and Banbury via Birmingham Snow Hill.

Early next year, the signalling between New Street and Birmingham International stations will also be replaced.

The news comes in the same week that West Midlands Railway took over the operation of the franchise previously operated by London Midland.

Its nine-year tenure will include a £1 billion injection into the West Midlands rail network including new stock, stations and services.