Rail passengers in Nottinghamshire are being advised to avoid travelling by train over the August bank holiday - or face travel chaos.
There will be queues at stations and "exceptionally busy trains" on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
The plea comes form East Midlands Railway (EMR), who run the new franchise on the East Midlands Mainline to London St Pancras.
It is on account of Network Rail carrying out major improvement work on the East Coast Main Line - linking London King's Cross with Peterborough, Newcastle and Scotland - during the weekend.
The line will close on Saturday and Sunday, with only a limited service on the Monday, resulting ion extra pressure on services along the East Midlands Mainline through Nottingham.
EMR said "numerous major events" attracting thousands of people also taking place in the region this bank holiday weekend make matters worse.
A spokesman said: "As a result, far more passengers than usual are expected to travel on East Midlands Railway services throughout the weekend.
"If at all possible, passengers are therefore advised not to travel on EMR services between Saturday August 24 and Monday August 26."
Passengers who do travel during this weekend can expect:
- Queues outside and inside stations
- Extended waits on platforms to board trains
- Exceptionally busy trains with some customers likely to stand for their entire journey
- Your journey may also take longer than normal
Sarah Turner, general manager for East Midlands Railway said: “Asking passengers not to travel with us is never a decision we take lightly.
“However, the unique combination of the first major closure of the East Coast Main Line for decades and the major events on our network means we fully expect our services and stations to be exceptionally busy.
"Therefore, if possible our passengers should avoid travelling with us this weekend."
She added: "We are doing everything we can to reduce the disruption as much as possible. We will have staff out and about across the network to provide as much help and support as possible and we are also working closely with our neighbouring train operators to make sure our plans are coordinated and robust.
“Nonetheless, passengers who do travel can expect queues at stations, extended waits on platforms and exceptionally busy services.”
Full details of the disruption can be found on the EMR website .
