Commuters are being told to expect major disruption as train stations used by passengers in Kent will be closed for more than a week.

Southeastern announced there will be no services to major hubs in the capital such as Waterloo and Cannon Street as preparations are made for the Thameslink programme.

The work also means no trains will run to and from Charing Cross, London Bridge and Waterloo East stations between Saturday, August 26, and Saturday, September 2.

Scroll down for audio

It means anyone who would normally travel to and from those stations with Southeastern will be diverted elsewhere.

Network rail has forced the closures to allow time for engineers to fit the infrastructure for the project.

In addition to the lack of service at Charing Cross and London Bridge, there will also be no service at Blackfriars on Monday, August 28, and Saturday, September 2.

Trains will not run at Cannon Street between Saturday, August 26 and Sunday, August 27, Victoria on Sunday, September 3, and Waterloo between Saturday, August 26, and Monday, August 28, and again between Saturday, September 2, and Sunday, September 3.

During the time works are ongoing trains will be sent to other stations in the capital.

Between Tuesday, August 29, and Friday, September 1, trains on the Maidstone East line will be diverted to London Victoria.

It is unclear where all trains will be diverted to.

Public transport campaigner from the Campaign for Better Transport Lianna Etkind said: "This is part of the Thameslink programme which is improving rail links between Kent and London and it's going to be incredibly frustrating for commuters that week.

"But the good news is that after those engineering works hopefully there will be a knock on positive effect for journeys made.

"At the moment Southeastern is right down the bottom of the satisfaction survey.

"I think this is a case of short term pain for long term gain.

"It's going to be frustrating for people who look forward to the traditional bank holiday weekend by the sea side."

Simon Blanchflower, Network Rail’s Thameslink Programme director, said: “I would like to thank passengers for their patience while we continue to rebuild the UK’s fourth busiest station and upgrade the railway to make it fit for the 21 Century.

"I strongly advise passengers to plan their journeys ahead and check before they travel as we build a better, more reliable railway with greater capacity for the millions of passengers that use it each year.”

Ellie Burrows, Southeastern’s Train Services director, said: "The closures mean we are unable to run our normal service and it will mean considerable disruption for our passengers, particularly for those four working days.

"We are doing everything we can to provide alternative journey options, and we'll be running longer trains where possible.

"But with the three major London stations closed there will be fewer services, queues are to be expected and trains that do run will be very busy.

"With the three major London stations closed there will be fewer services, queues are to be expected and trains that do run will be very busy" - Ellie Burrows

"We've been working very closely with Network Rail, TfL and the Department for Transport to plan for this and we've been giving passengers advance notice so they can plan ahead.

"We urge passengers to check how their journeys will be affected by visiting our website."

Those trains that that do run in the period affected will be much busier than usual and will be diverted to other stations, including Victoria, Blackfriars, Cannon Street and London Waterloo International.

Queuing systems will be in place in some stations and passengers are advised to leave more time for their journey.

It comes as the rail franchise has revealed it will also have to halt some late night services at the end of this month.

Train passengers will also face disruption to various Southeastern late-night services linking Kent and London between Monday, July 24, and Friday, July 28, due to separate engineering work.