The Heart of Wales Line is set to close for five days while Network Rail carries out essential engineering work.

The line between Craven Arms and Llandrindod Wells will be closed from 7am on Monday, September 28 until 7pm on Friday, October 2.

Network Rail says the work will help maintain safety and reliability and support the long-term future of the line.

Teams will work at Bucknell, Knucklas, Llangynllo, Penybont and Llandrindod Wells.

Track timbers will be replaced between Bucknell and Llangynllo, while sleepers and timbers will be renewed between Craven Arms Junction and Llandrindod Wells. Survey work will be carried out at Penybont Tunnel to help plan future work, while Llangynllo Tunnel will be inspected and repairs and vegetation work carried out.

Transport for Wales will run replacement buses between Shrewsbury and Llandrindod Wells, while trains will continue between Swansea and Llandrindod.

TfW will operate express buses and minibuses. Express services will stop at Shrewsbury, Craven Arms, Knighton and Llandrindod, while minibuses will serve all stations.

From Monday to Thursday, there will be five departures each day from Shrewsbury and six from Llandrindod, roughly every three hours. On Friday, there will be four departures from Shrewsbury and five from Llandrindod.

Rail services are expected to resume after 7pm on Friday, with standby buses available if needed.

Passengers are warned journeys may take longer and are advised to check before travelling.

The work will also mean overnight road closures at four level crossings: Brynmarlais on Monday night, Llandadog on Tuesday, Llandybie on Wednesday and Tirydail in Ammanford on Thursday. The closures will run between around 10pm and 5:30am, with exact times varying at each crossing.

A number of Shrewsbury to Crewe services will also be affected, with buses replacing trains between Shrewsbury and Crewe from 11:40pm until 5:30am each night.