Level crossings will be enhanced to the most modern standards and sections of track will be replaced by Network Rail’s Orange Army to deliver a better service for passengers.

The work has been timed to minimise disruption to passengers, with the numbers who use the railway over a bank holiday often dropping by as much as 30 per cent.

The investment projects that will be worked on over the May Day bank holiday include upgrading four level crossings between Doncaster and York (Balne, Balne Lowgate, Fenwick and Moss) and replacing track at Shaftholme which will see trains diverted via Leeds and Castleford.

Some services will be impacted between Saturday 2 May at 17:25 and Monday 4 May at 06:00 as a result and passengers are urged to check before they travel.

Mark Tarry, route managing director for Network Rail, said: “Our improvement programme this bank holiday is focussed on delivering a better service for passengers.  We are acutely conscious that many people want to use the railway over the bank holiday to reunite with their friends and families, which is why the vast majority of the network is running normally over the long weekend.

“We’d like to apologise to any passengers whose plans are affected by our improvement work, but I hope they will understand that this is a quieter time on the railway and we want to minimise the overall impact of these vital projects on passengers.”

Passengers wishing to travel to see the Tour De Yorkshire will not be impacted by the scheduled work over the bank holiday weekend, although those who do wish to see the event are reminded to plan ahead and leave plenty of time to complete their journey as services will be busy.

To plan to your journey in advance and check train times, visit the National Rail enquiries website www.nationalrail.co.uk