Buses will be rolled out again to replace trains on a number of Arriva services affecting passengers from North Yorkshire this weekend.

Not only will passengers have to deal with the inconvenience of moving on to the buses, there could be further delays as the buses negotiate York's traffic nightmare on the A64 at Copmanthorpe.

Services between York and Leeds will be replaced by buses for the whole day, and services to Manchester will remain as trains but be diverted around Leeds.

But this time driver shortage is not to blame, rather it is a pre-booked working slot arranged by Railtrack as part of the multi-million pound upgrade of Leeds Station.

Work this Sunday will bring Railtrack's schedule of occasional weekend work for 2001 to completion before Christmas. Work to install overhead lines at the east end of Leeds station will start at one minute past midnight on Sunday, and is due to finish at 4am on Monday.

A spokesman for Railtrack said: "Train services on some routes will be affected during this period.

"Passengers should expect longer journey times, some diversions and replacement coach services on routes affected.

"All journeys to, from and around Leeds will continue to be possible, but passengers should allow extra time for their journeys and check train times before setting out."

Passengers on the Trans Pennine routes have had a tough time in the last 15 months, with buses all too frequently replacing the trains.

Flooding, problems with station upgrades and staff shortages have all hit passengers on the York-Leeds route, known affectionately to regular users as the "grumpy train" because of the mood the delays have put passengers in.

Peter Cushing, regional director for Arriva Trains, told the Evening Press: "It is frustrating that we need to be bring in the buses again, but it is part of a much larger, pre-planned scheme.

"We will be using our well-rehearsed bus replacement service and we have to put up with the closures in the short term, as they will lead to the completion of an absolutely phenomenal station which will reap many benefits for our passengers."

Updated: 12:12 Friday, November 30, 2001