Travel news live: Heavy traffic on M25 and M5 as Christmas getaway begins amid 85mph wind weather warnings
One lane has closed on both the M5 and M6 as 23.7million drivers hit the road
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Your support makes all the difference.People driving home for Christmas are experiencing heavy delays on the M25 and M5 as ‘Frantic Friday’ sees strong winds disrupt rail, air and ferries.
Today 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.
There are currently delays of 40 minutes after a vehicle fire on the M5 and congestion at J25 of the M25 was reported after an earlier accident.
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.
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.”
Lane closures start on busiest Christmas travel day
Today, Friday December 20 is expected to see the most cars on the road, with an estimated 23.7 million drivers planning a trip.
As of 10am, there are lane closures on M3 westbound within J2, M40 northbound between J8A and J9, M62 J36 westbound exist, M62 J21 westbound exit and M65 eastbound within J3.
There is also a hard shoulder closed on M6 southbound between J7 and J6.
Accidents, broken down vehicles, vehicle recovers and lane management are among the causes of lane closures.
Rail strikes on the horizon
Looking ahead to New Year’s Eve, Rail strikes are back with a vengeance. Passengers on Avanti West Coast face months of disruption, starting on 31 December and continuing until the late May bank holiday weekend.
Train managers working for the West Coast main line operator and who belong to the RMT union will walk out on New Year’s Eve, Thursday 2 January and then every Sunday between 12 January and 25 May.
The plan is to strike on a total of 21 days, disrupting the plans of up to 100,000 passengers for each of the chosen dates.
The network covers around 700 miles of track. It centres on the West Coast main line to and from London Euston.
The main cities served are:
- Birmingham
- Manchester
- Liverpool
- Glasgow
Coventry, Stoke-on-Trent, Preston, Carlisle and Edinburgh are among the other cities on the network.
In addition, Avanti West Coast runs along the North Wales coast, connecting Crewe with the port of Holyhead. The dispute is about payments to train managers for working on their rest days.
Train managers have been offered around £250 for each eight-hour shift worked on a rest day, or £300 at weekends. The union says Avanti senior managers working as stand-in train managers earn upwards of £300. Train drivers employed by Avanti earn a flat £600 for working on a day off.
Mick Lynch, general secretary of the RMT, said: “Our members have had enough, and this strike action demonstrates their determination to win a fair deal.
“It’s time for Avanti to put forward serious proposals that reflect the vital contribution of our train managers to the railway.”
Avanti West Coast says: “This strike action will cause significant disruption to our customers making journeys on the West Coast Main Line over an extended period.
“We’re disappointed our train managers who are RMT members have voted to decline the very reasonable, revised offer made to them to resolve the rest day working dispute and avoid inconveniencing our customers.
“We remain open to working with the RMT to resolve the dispute.”
Read more here:
When are the next train strikes? How industrial action will affect passengers
‘Sustained strike action is now the only way to focus management’s minds on reaching a negotiated settlement’ – Mick Lynch, general secretary of the RMT union
Frantic Friday in the skies
Friday 20 December is projected to be the busiest day overall this season for UK flight departures, with 2,807 departures alone – equating to over 500,000 departing seats, according to the aviation data service Cirium.
The most popular international destinations for UK departures are Amsterdam, Dublin, Geneva, Paris CDG and Tenerife South. To Amsterdam there will be more than 100 flights a day on average between 20 December and 2 January.
Heathrow airport is scheduled to see the largest number of departures over the festive period (8,741), followed by Gatwick, Manchester, Stansted and Edinburgh.
Piccadilly line partly closed on Friday morning during London rush hour
As London commuters make their way into work in the final days before Christmas, some were hit with closures on the Piccadilly line impacting their journeys.
There is no service between Rayners Lane and Uxbridge on Friday morning due to a shortage of Piccadilly line trains. The lack of trains is the result of damage caused by leaf fall, which Transport for London (TfL) staff are working to fix.
TfL advises passengers to use the Metropolitan line to complete their journeys
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