Travel news live: M1, M4 and M5 suffer lane closures as Christmas traffic chaos begins
With the festive season upon us, travel chaos in the UK has already begun while further delays expected for all types of transport due to weekend weather
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Your support makes all the difference.Christmas travel this weekend is set to coincide with yellow weather alert warnings around the UK, as strong winds are likely to cause delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport.
Today, Friday, 20 December is set to be the busiest day for road travel according to the AA, with an estimated 23.7 million drivers planning a trip. Friday is also projected to be the busiest day overall this season for UK flight departures, with 2,807 departures alone.
London commuter travel in the final days before Christmas was thrown into disruption on Friday morning after the Piccadilly line closed its service between Rayners Lane and Uxbridge after damage caused by leaf fall left the line with a shortage of trains.
Other travellers have encountered issues with ferry services. The service between Holyhead and Dublin, the main ferry link between Britain and Ireland, will remain suspended over Christmas and into the new year after Holyhead’s port suffered damage during Storm Darragh.
M48 Severn Bridge to close from 6am Saturday
The M48 Severn Bridge will closed as of 6am on Saturday, 21 December due to forecast strong winds, National Highways has announced.
The road authority said they will monitor the wind speeds and will re-open the bridge when it is safe to do so, however, strong winds are forecast throughout most of Saturday and into Sunday.
There are currently no plans in place to close the M4 Prince of Wales.
When there are expected gusts above 40 knots (46mph), National Highways closes the M48 Severn Bridge to all traffic until wind speeds have dropped.
If wind speeds exceed 70 knots (80mph), both bridges are closed.
Traffic can still travel between England and Wales by following a diversion using the M5, M50, A40 and A449.
Severe congestion and lane closures across multiple motorways ahead of Friday rush hour
With the busiest day for road traffic in the Christmas period here, traffic on the roads is already starting to feel congested in places and lanes are also being closed.
There is a lane closed on the M5 southbound between J30 near Exeter/ Topsham and J31 near Matford / Exminster due to a vehicle fire, with delays of one and a half hours against expected traffic, Traffic England says.
M40 northbound within J1A before M25 J16 anti-clockwise access near Hockley Heath also has lane closures due to a vehicle being overturned.
The M55 has also experienced a road traffic collision at the eastbound entry slip at J1, causing a lane to be closed.
Incidents on the motorway will cause varying delays for traffic, while severe congestion is also being found across many sections of different motorways.
Met Office issues weather update: Strong winds in Scotland
Rain and potentially disruptive strong winds are expected to sweep across large swathes of the UK on Saturday, weather that has the potential to cause delays to public transport and some disruption to the road network.
National severe weather warnings for wind have been put in place for both Saturday and Sunday.
“We have slightly tweaked our weather warnings as the peak winds have now shifted slightly north,” the Met Office wrote on Friday. “
“The strongest winds are expected across the far north of Scotland on Saturday afternoon and evening, with the potential for gusts in excess of 80 mph in coastal districts including Orkney.”
As for the entire country, “strong winds will be more widespread on Sunday, with gusts of 50-60 mph expected quite widely. Around some exposed coasts and hills, gusts of 60 to 70 mph are possible, especially in the north and west.
“In addition, squally showers are likely with some hail and thunder possible in places. A Yellow National Severe Weather Warning is in place, covering a large swathe of the UK.”
Kentish Town Tube station to re-open on 23 December just before Christmas after an 18-month closure
After 18 months of closure, the Kentish Town Tube station is due to be up and running on 23 December.
While Thameslink services have been calling at the railway station, passengers have not been able to change for the London Underground there since its closure in June 2023.
Major upgrades have been carried out to the station, such as the replacement of the station’s 26-year-old escalators and replacing the ticket hall’s floor and ceiling.
The station won’t be open for long, however, as London’s public transport closes for Christmas Day.
There will be no service on the majority of public transport in London on Christmas Day and no services on some parts of the network on Boxing Day, including the Elizabeth line.
Train passengers in the west urged to check before they travel over Christmas
Network Rail is using the festive period to carry out a series of improvements and enhancements to the railways, however, this will impact train services over Christmas.
No services will call at London Paddington between Friday 27 and Sunday 29 December inclusive. Some long-distance services will instead be diverted to/from London Euston, with the majority of trains starting/stopping at Reading and Ealing Broadway.
Those who are aiming for central London can change at Ealing Broadway and take a London Underground service into the city, using either the District or Central lines.
Services that run through Westbury will also be impacted. From Friday 27 December to Thursday 23 January inclusive, the railway through Westbury, as well as between Westbury and Salisbury, Wiltshire will be closed and trains will be diverted or replaced by buses.
South West Main Line engineering works to severely impact services over the Christmas period
From Monday 23 December 2024 until Monday 6 January 2025, train services will be revised while Network Rail carries out engineering works to the railway at Brookwood, between Farnborough and Woking.
A series of upgrades to the railways are being put in place, such as adding new track panels, upgrading track circuits and installing new switches, as well as carrying out work to strengthen the embankments.
As a result, South Western Railway services will be altered or diverted and some journeys will be significantly longer.
Rail replacement buses will be in place for various routes including Farnborough to Woking and journeys between London Waterloo and Southampton Central, Poole and Weymouth will be diverted via Guildford, taking approximately 45 minutes longer.
There will be no direct services between London Waterloo, Salisbury and Exeter St Davids. Services from Ascot to Aldershot will be changed to run earlier between Camberley and Aldershot between Monday 16 December and Saturday 21 December.
Services between London Waterloo and Alton, Guildford and Farnham, and London Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour via Basingstoke will also be affected.
Christmas rail closedown – the details
Trains will start to go home to their depots for Christmas from late afternoon on 24 December onwards, with services on most routes shutting down early. Last direct trains on key intercity routes on Christmas Eve are as follows:
- London King’s Cross-Edinburgh: 5.30pm/Edinburgh-London King’s Cross: 4.13pm
- London Euston-Manchester Piccadilly: 5.55pm/Manchester Piccadilly-London Euston: 6.13pm
- London Paddington-Cardiff Central: 7.48pm/Cardiff Central-London Paddington: 8.18pm
- London Victoria-Gatwick Airport: 8.45pm/Gatwick Airport-London Victoria: 7.32pm
- Bristol Temple Meads-Leeds: 4.35pm/Leeds-Bristol Temple Meads: 4.11pm
- Glasgow Queen Street-Aberdeen: 6.41pm/Aberdeen-Glasgow Queen Street: 6.36pm
All Caledonian Sleeper services are cancelled until 27 December.
On Christmas Day, no passenger trains will run on any UK rail line.
On Boxing Day, almost all UK routes will have no rail service. Rare exceptions include:
- London Victoria-Gatwick Airport-Brighton: hourly services from 8.30am to 8.30pm.
- Tottenham Hale-Stansted Airport: half-hourly services from 6.45am to 11.15pm. Tottenham Hale is on the Victoria Line of the London Underground, which will be running.
- Merseyrail (local network around Liverpool): 9am-6pm, not all lines/stations. “Additional services will be available between Liverpool and Aintree to support those attending the Boxing Day races,” the train operator says.
Eurostar will run a full service from London St Pancras International to Paris (15 trains each way) and Brussels (eight trains each way).
Traffic expected to peak today
As Christmas falls mid-week this year, the RAC predicts there will be an extended period of “pre-Christmas panic” on the roads.
Friday 20 December is set to be the busiest day of the winter on motorways and trunk roads according to rival motoring organisation the AA, which predicts a record 23.7 million car journeys. The AA warns Saturday 21 and Monday 23 December will also be extremely busy, with 22.7 million on each day. The RAC, meanwhile, predicts 1-6pm on Saturday and 10am-4pm on Monday will be the busiest times.
The AA has issued amber warnings for 20, 21 and 23 December, “due to the volume of congestion predicted”.
While most of those journeys are expected to be under 50 miles, The Independent has analysed AA figures to calculate that one in seven motorists plans to drive more than 100 miles on “frantic Friday”.
The AA predicts the heaviest traffic on Friday 20 December to be on these roads:
- M25 western section, particularly between the M3 and M4 interchanges, including Heathrow Airport; The RAC warns of congestion on the stretch all the way from the M1 to the M23 (Gatwick and Brighton).
- M4 heading west from London towards Bristol, as well as around Newport and Cardiff.
- A34 between Newbury and Oxford.
- M27 in Hampshire from Southampton to Portsmouth.
- M6 in the West Midlands between junction 4 (M42) and junction 11 (Wolverhampton), especially at the M5 interchange.
- A38 in Somerset, with particular pressure around Bristol airport.
In addition, the RAC warns the M53 from Chester to Liverpool will be particularly hard hit on Friday during the evening rush hour.
Lane closures on motorways caused by accidents and vehicle fires
As of 10.50am Friday morning, there are three of four lanes closed on the M25 clockwise between J2 and J3 near Swanley due to an accident, causing congestion on the road.
On the M5 southbound between J30 near Exeter / Topsham and J31 near Matford / Exminster lanes have also been closed due to a vehicle fire.
There is also a lane closure on the M62 J33 eastbound near Pontefract and Knottingley due to a broken-down vehicle.
Congestion is also hitting other areas of the network, such as M42 northbound between J6 near Birmingham Airport.
What should you expect from a yellow weather wanring?
Yellow wind warnings have been put in place on Saturday and Sunday, covering much of the UK as rain and disruptive winds are set to hit the country over the weekend.
The Met Office says that people can expect some delays to public transport, as well as disruption to travel by road.
On Saturday, a small chance of significant delays or even cancellations to services including ferry and air, whilst some roads, bridges and causeways may be closed.
On Sunday, some delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport are likely.
The weather experts have advised those travelling to give themselves the best chance of avoiding delays by checking road conditions if driving, or bus timetables and amending travel plans if necessary.
Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist, Rebekah Hicks, said: “This period of disruptive weather coincides with a busy period on UK roads as the festive getaway starts for many.
“The area of low pressure will bring rain and strong winds on Saturday, with a chance of significant disruption especially to transport networks across the north, including the potential for ferry cancellations.
“The strongest winds are expected across northern Scotland on Saturday afternoon and evening, with the potential for gusts of 80 to 85 mph in coastal districts.
“The strong winds will be more widespread on Sunday with gusts of 50-60 mph across much of northern, central and western UK, locally higher for coasts and across high ground.”
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