There will be no train services from London Charing Cross and Waterloo East for the next two weekends because of engineering work.

The closures will take place from Saturday, 26 to Monday, 28 August (August bank holiday weekend), and on Saturday, 2 and Sunday, 3 September.

They are required to continue work that has been carried out over the last two weekends, Saturday and Sunday, 12 and 13 and Saturday to Monday, 19 to 21 August, at New Cross when a busy junction that controls the movement of trains in and out of London Bridge station was being rebuilt.

During the upcoming work, five sets of switches and crossings will be replaced, as well as more the 1,000 yards of track, sleepers, and ballast, and is part of Network Rail’s investment in the replacement of 40-year rail infrastructure in Kent to improve reliability for passengers.

During the closures of London Charing Cross or Waterloo East, most Southeastern trains will be diverted into London Victoria and London Blackfriars: Accessible replacement buses will be provided between Lewisham and Greenwich, calling at St Johns and New Cross.

London Underground will accept Southeastern tickets at no extra charge between London Victoria, Charing Cross, Embankment, Waterloo, Southwark, London Bridge, Cannon Street, Blackfriars, and Elephant & Castle, and on the Docklands Light Railway between Lewisham and Greenwich.

David Davidson, Network Rail’s Kent route director, said: “Over the past four years, we’ve invested more than a billion pounds into the railway in Kent and South East London, replacing and upgrading 1980s infrastructure to improve reliability for passengers.

“That work continues with this investment at New Cross junction, a key location on the route into London Bridge, controlling the movement of hundreds of trains each day.

“Any incident on the route into London Bridge has a major impact on passengers and it’s vital that our infrastructure is as reliable as possible. This vital work will bring tangible benefits for passengers when complete and we’d like to thank passengers for their patience while we undertake these works.”

Daniel Tall, head of the joint performance team for Southeastern, said: “We know that this work being undertaken by Network Rail is crucial in making the railway more reliable, but for a short period during August and early September, there will be an impact on customers’ journeys at weekends.

“Our message is to please check before you travel on the Southeastern app, our website or Twitter @Se_Railway, and allow more time for your journey on these weekends.”