Dorset rail passengers will be hit with a double whammy of disruption on the Weymouth-Waterloo line this Christmas and new year.

As well as a major engineering project at Southampton – which will close the line in that area and see buses laid on for passengers – South Western Railway services are to be hit by another rail strike.

The RMT will stage a walkout on New Year's Eve as part of an ongoing dispute over the role of train guards.

While some services will still run on the network, there will be no trains between Weymouth and Poole, with buses laid on instead. Timetables are being finalised.

Passengers are warned to check before they travel over the festive season.

Services that run through Southampton will be severely disrupted by engineering work from Christmas Eve to New Year’s Day.

Replacement buses will operate between Eastleigh and Southampton Central. A revised train service will run between Southampton Central, Bournemouth, Poole and Weymouth.

This means that Weymouth and Dorchester residents wishing to travel to London on New Year's Eve will have to get a bus to Poole, change onto a train to Southampton, get another bus to Eastleigh then catch a train to Waterloo. 

Network Rail is spending £8million on upgrading the track at Mount Pleasant Road next to Southampton’s River Itchen. It says the work will mean more reliable journeys, as well as less noise for people living near the line close to Northam Junction.

Chris Loder, head of service strategy for South Western Railway, said: “We encourage passengers to check our website before they travel ahead of Network Rail’s work over the festive period. Buses will replace trains on many services in the Southampton area.

“We also encourage passengers to avoid travelling on Christmas Eve if they can and to be prepared for longer journey times between Christmas and New Year. We’re doing all we can to minimise disruption and make sure we get all our passengers to their destination over the festive period.”

Jason Bridges, chief operating officer for Network Rail’s Wessex route, said: “This vital work will improve the railway through Southampton. We appreciate there is never a good time to carry out work which disrupts passengers and we have worked closely with our colleagues at South Western Railway to keep disruption to a minimum and make information for passengers as clear as possible.

“Southampton is a critical part of our network, and by keeping the infrastructure reliable we are meeting the needs of the communities our railway serves, both now and in the future.”

The engineering work is part of Network Rail’s biggest ever Christmas investment in rail infrastructure, with more than £160m being spent nationwide.

As in previous years, no trains will run at all on Christmas Day or Boxing Day.