RAIL passengers travelling from Worcester to London could benefit from better services in the next three years.

But sections of the Cotswold line may have to close, causing major disruption, to enable track improvements to be made.

Network Rail is planning a £150,000 detailed engineering study on the implications of doubling all or some of the single track sections between Worcester and Oxford, as well as making other improvements to cut journey times.

The company met MPs from constituencies along the line, county councils and representatives from the Cotswold Line Promotion Group last week to discuss the possible improvements to the track.

John Ellis, vice-chairman of the Cotswold Line Promotion Group, who attended two of the meetings, said: "Network Rail is saying it needs to spend money bringing up to date those points which are a bottleneck.

"We came away with a strong sense of its commitment to re-doubling."

He said Network Rail route director Robbie Burns talked about improvements being finished by 2010.

"The potential downside is that they may well be proposing a blockade to get the work done quickly."

This would mean closing sections of the track for work to be done. Mr Ellis said people would have to access London rail links using other routes from stations such as Gloucester, Cheltenham and Warwick while the work was done.

The Cotswold line was a double track from 1853 until the early 1970s when, in the aftermath of the Beeching cuts, sections of one track were removed over a period of about 10 years. In some cases the remaining track was left in its original position and in others it was moved to a central location, meaning it would have to be moved again to create enough space for a double track.

Robbie Burns said: "Network Rail is committed to growing the railway in Britain and we are aware of the aspirations of passengers and stakeholders along the Cotswold route. This study is important and will provide us with the necessary detail to make informed decisions on what options are possible and affordable."

The study, which is expected to be complete by the autumn, will also consider implications for stations, including new platforms and footbridges as well as signalling and freight capacity.