Christmas getaway: Rail delays, 16.4million cars on the road and weather warnings cause travel chaos
Christmas travellers experienced traffic and train delays on Saturday, as ITV News' Rebecca Barry explains.
Drivers and rail passengers have faced Christmas getaway travel disruption, with millions of car journeys under way and major London railway stations set to close on Sunday.
Bad weather, long queues and an estimated 16.4 million cars on the road made Saturday one of the worst days to travel this year.
Waiting times reached 90 minutes at the Port of Dover's border control on Saturday as drivers made Christmas getaways, while rail passengers experienced disruption due to bad weather.
On Christmas Eve, two of London's railway stations, King’s Cross and Paddington, will be shut due to engineering works.
On Saturday, motorists were advised to travel before 11am or after 6pm if possible to reduce the chance of being stuck in long queues.
There are multiple weather warnings across the UK, including a snow and ice yellow alert for north and northeast Scotland, as well as the aftermath of Storm Pia causing more issues for travellers.
INRIX transportation analyst, Bob Pishue said: “On average, drivers could see travel times up to 20% longer this holiday season, while travellers around Greater London could experience more than double typical drive times."
Road congestion
Road congestion was likely to have peaked on Friday afternoon as drivers embarking on leisure trips competed for road space with commuters and business traffic.
Drivers on the A1 were warned to expect delays on the A1 in Northumberland after a serious crash.
The road was closed in both directions on Saturday morning after the incident, which happened between the A1167 and B1340 near Belford.
The M20 motorway in Kent has reopened between junctions 8 and 9 after it was closed due to Operation Brock, which involves organising a queue for freight traffic during disruption to cross-Channel services.
Rail issues
Eurostar, which operates passenger services to and from London St Pancras, is operating two extra services per day between London and Paris up to and including Christmas Eve to help people whose trains were cancelled on Thursday.
Vehicle-carrying train service Eurotunnel is running its usual timetable but is only accepting customers who have pre-booked.
On the domestic railway, disruption from strong winds remained following chaos caused by Storm Pia on Thursday.
The Elizabeth line suffered severe delays on Friday afternoon between London Paddington, Reading and Heathrow Airport after two trains broke down.
Network Rail said disruption was expected between Mansfield and Worksop for the end of the day, as well as between Birmingham New Street and Lichfield Trent Valley, caused by damage to the overhead electric wires in the Aston area of Birmingham.
No LNER trains served Inverness on Friday morning.
ScotRail services were suspended between Inverness and Wick, Tain, Ardgay and Lairg.
Additionally, rail disruption is likely on Christmas Eve as two of London’s railway stations, King’s Cross and Paddington, will be shut due to engineering works.
The closure of London Paddington will continue until Wednesday, meaning no mainline trains will serve Heathrow Airport.
Severe weather to worsen journey times
The Met Office has warned there could be more weather-related travel issues in parts of the UK this weekend.
Christmas Eve travel plans could be ruined with heavy winds set to batter parts of the country ahead of a rain-soaked December 25.
Gusts as high as 60 to 70 mph are due to hit the north of Scotland and northern and central areas of England.
Two separate yellow wind warnings have been issued, saying people should expect travel disruption, damage to buildings and power cuts, while the rest of the country may see showers.
A yellow warning for rain covers much of Wales, with forecasters warning flooding and travel disruption is possible.
Network Rail warned severe weather was likely to impact some ScotRail routes on Saturday.
Port of Dover
At the Port of Dover people have been urged to prepare for potential long waits as Christmas getaway disruption continues across the country.
P&O Ferries said there were estimated wait times of 90 minutes at border control, but queues have since cleared.
The Port Of Dover has attributed Saturday's hour-long delay to a surge in demand for ferries after the Channel Tunnel rail link was closed on Thursday due to unscheduled industrial action by French workers, which ruined the travel plans of tens of thousands of people.
P&O Ferries apologised for delays, telling customers: “Please accept our sincere apologies for the waiting time you are currently experiencing.
“We are working hard with the authorities involved to improve the situation and would like to assure you that you will be accommodated on the next available sailing once you get through.”
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