Work will take place at a range of locations between Port Glasgow and Gourock and Wemyss Bay to renew track, refurbish structures and repair a tunnel on the railway.

Engineers will be renewing points – rails which move trains from one track to another – at Wemyss Bay Junction to the west of Port Glasgow station.

In Greenock, work will be taking place to replace lineside walls between Cartsdyke and Greenock Central stations while a railway bridge over Sinclair Street in the town will also have its timber deck, which carries the track, replaced.

At Newton Street tunnel, which runs for over a mile between Greenock West and Fort Matilda stations, engineers will be carrying out stonework repairs and waterproofing the structure.

Due to the complexity of the projects involved, further work will also take place the following weekend (March 22/23).

Ross Moran, Network Rail Scotland route director, said: “This vital work will help improve performance and reliability for our customers. Our engineers will work around-the-clock to complete these projects as quickly as possible and we thank passengers for their understanding while this crucial investment takes place.”

Mark Ilderton, ScotRail service delivery director, said: “These improvements will bring long-term benefits for ScotRail customers, ensuring a more reliable and resilient railway for years to come.

“We are fully committed to keeping customers moving and getting them where they need to be while this work takes place, with rail replacement bus services operating to minimise disruption.

“We appreciate our customers’ patience and encourage anyone planning to travel to check their journey in advance.”