TRAVEL bosses have given assurances that six weeks of major railway engineering work will not clash with the Open Golf Championship in Hoylake.

Thousands of commuters face weeks of disruption when work, due to start sometime in spring, shuts three key commuter stations.

All services to Chester, Ellesmere Port, New Brighton and West Kirby will start and terminate at James Street missing out Liverpool Central, Liverpool Lime Street and Moorfields stations.

A start date for the engineering has not yet been decided by Network Rail, which owns the track and stations.

Merseyrail says the scheme "might" begin in April or May - but any overrun could see the shutdown affecting visitors to the Open in July.

Concerned Hoylake councillor Gerry Ellis said it was "crazy" to schedule the work at a time when it could run into such a huge event.

He said: "I would be very concerned if it turns out to be any closer to the Open Golf.

"You would have thought they would have the sense to take the championship into account.

"It should be scheduled to finish well before the Open.

"It seems be crazy to run the work so close to the event. Mersey-travel believe there could be 17,000 people travelling by train to Hoylake for the golf with trains every ten minutes."

Despite not knowing the exact date the work is due to start Merseyrail says the work will be completed before the Open begins.

Spokesman Rudi Boersma said: "We have no date yet - it is not us who decide that. Network Rail decide on the repairs in co-ordination with us but we have no specific date.

"It won't affect either the Grand National or the Open. We operate from a passenger perspective and it is important we cause as little disruption as possible. We will avoid any major events."

Engineers will undertake work on the single loop underground track where a commuter train derailed last October.

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch has indicated that a track defect was to blame for the rush-hour incident that saw 119 passengers trapped underground.

A spokesman for Network Rail said: "We are still finalising the dates at the moment but we are looking at spring.

"We are conscious of both events. The work has been planned into a three-year programme since 2004.

"The RAIB has still to publish its final report and until then it would not be appropriate to comment on the cause of the derailment."