Bargain hunters may struggle with journeys to Westfield at Stratford and the West End as rail disruption between Suffolk and London continues this week.

The line between Ingatestone and London Liverpool Street remains closed through to the new year, allowing Network Rail engineers to continue their work replacing overhead wires and rebuilding some of the stations between London and Shenfield.

It means those travelling from Ipswich, Stowmarket, Colchester, Witham and Chelmsford are forced to use bus replacement services to Newbury Park where they can pick up the Central Line.

The disruption is adding an additional hour to journeys - meaning it may be safer to shop local this week if you are seeking a post-Christmas bargain.

The line is scheduled to reopen on Wednesday, January 2 as workers return in earnest following the long festive break.

Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia managing director said:”If you are travelling with us, please do check before you travel as some journeys make take longer than normal or arrive or depart at different times than usual.

“If there is engineering works on your journey, we will make sure you still get to your destination, even if part of your travel is by bus.”

The engineering works between London and Shenfield will continue into next year – there are no weekend through trains between the region and London most weekends between the end of January and the end of March and there are expected to be line closures over the Easter Bank Holiday.

But Network Rail says this disruption should be the final disruption faced by passengers on the lines near London which have seen major engineering work since Christmas 2015.

Meliha Duymaz, Network Rail’s route managing director for Anglia, said: “We are making a huge investment into Anglia’s rail network to carry out major improvements to rail travel in the region as part of our Railway Upgrade Plan.

“This means there will be changes to train services over the Christmas period. I’d like to thank passengers for their patience while we carry out this work and advise them to check before they travel.”