Passengers who are planning to use Euston station over the August bank holiday weekend, are being advised to avoid rail travel to and from London for two days, unless travel is essential.

Work will be taking place to prepare for Britain’s new high speed railway.

The shutdown will impact on all services on the West Coast main line, including trains serving Penrith, Carlisle, Lancaster, and Oxenholme.

The holiday period is one of the busiest weekends of the year for tourism, and is likely to have a significant effect on businesses and the local economy.

There won't be any trains running in or out of Euston on August 26 and 27, whilst a major power supply to the station is rerouted by Network Rail on behalf of HS2 Ltd.

Network Rail will also be completing significant maintenance and improvements elsewhere whilst Euston is closed, as part of its' national railway upgrade plan.

Director for Network Rail, Antonia Buckland, said: "The advice to passengers planning travel to or from Euston station this bank holiday is clear. Plan your journeys on days other than Saturday and the Sunday and only travel by train on those days if it is absolutely essential.

"If you do travel, trains will be busier than usual, journeys will take longer and unless you have reserved one, you won’t be guaranteed a seat."

Ms Buckland added: "Travel between Scotland, the north west, West Midlands and London on the Saturday and Sunday is discouraged, and the whole rail industry, Network Rail, HS2 Ltd and train operators, is working together to give passengers plenty of warning and information about the planned disruption."

Director of HS2 Ltd, Rob Carr, said: "HS2 is working closely with Network Rail to deliver a brand new high speed railway that will boost the UK’s economy and revolutionise rail travel in the UK.

"This will increase capacity and improve connections for cities in the Midlands and the north to each other, as well as to London.

"As a part of our extensive construction programme we are working hard to keep disruption to a minimum and appreciate the understanding of all passengers who are affected by the two day closure of Euston station."

Peter Broadley, executive director at Virgin Trains, said: "We know upgrade works can impact on people’s travel plans, particularly over a bank holiday weekend.

"We expect our services to be extremely popular on August 25 and 28. If customers choose to travel, we strongly recommend they book their tickets in advance, make a seat reservation and allow longer getting to their destination. Customers should also double check national rail enquiries and our website before travelling."

Network Rail owns, manages and develops Britain's railway, which includes 20,000 miles of track, and 40,000 bridges and viaducts.

The railway upgrade is Network Rail's investment plan for Britain's railways. It makes up two thirds of Network Rail's £40bn spending priorities for the five years to 2019, and represents the biggest sustained programme of rail modernisation since the Victorian era.