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Christmas getaway: Travellers warned over 'frantic Friday' | Christmas getaway: Travellers warned over 'frantic Friday' |
(about 3 hours later) | |
Drivers, rail passengers and coach travellers are being warned to expect delays in some parts of the UK, as many begin their Christmas getaway. | |
The RAC says Christmas travellers will combine with the usual commuter traffic as well as rail disruption to create a "frantic Friday" on Britain's roads. | |
Virgin Trains West Coast has warned of some cancellations to services. | |
Highways England has suspended 400 miles of roadworks, but it says "busy road conditions" should be expected. | |
It is urging motorists to check their vehicles before setting off. | It is urging motorists to check their vehicles before setting off. |
"We're urging people to make sure their cars are ready for the journey - check the oil, water and tyres. Most importantly, make sure you have enough fuel." | "We're urging people to make sure their cars are ready for the journey - check the oil, water and tyres. Most importantly, make sure you have enough fuel." |
Traffic is expected to peak between 16:00 and 20:00 GMT, the RAC says. | |
Traffic data company Inrix has predicted the worst delays to be on the M1 northbound between junctions 11 and 22, peaking at about 11:00 GMT, and southbound between junctions 19 and 12, peaking at about 12:15. | |
It also predicts delays all along the M1 in Northern Ireland, peaking at about 17:00 GMT, and the A720 eastbound in Scotland. | |
Virgin Trains says strikes which had been due to affect the West Coast mainline have been called off. The company said it would try to operate a full service on Friday, but there would be some cancellations. | |
Merseyrail workers are striking for 24 hours, disrupting services in and around Liverpool, in a long-running dispute over the role of guards. | |
There will be no trains running on the Ellesmere Port or Hunts Cross lines and some stations may be closed. Most trains on other routes will run between 07:00 and 19:00 GMT. | |
In England, a "roadworks embargo" will be in place on motorways and major A roads until 00:01 on 2 January, meaning lanes will be open and temporary speed restrictions lifted as roadworks are paused. | |
However, 27 sets of roadworks covering a total of 122 miles are staying in place because it would be too dangerous to lift them. | |
The Welsh Government said no roadworks would take place in Wales over Christmas and the New Year, other than essential or emergency work. | |
Scottish Transport Minister Humza Yousaf said that while mostly mild weather was expected in the coming days, there were large stockpiles of grit to cope with any icy conditions. | Scottish Transport Minister Humza Yousaf said that while mostly mild weather was expected in the coming days, there were large stockpiles of grit to cope with any icy conditions. |
Coach operator National Express said it was running its biggest Christmas schedule yet, increasing the number of services from locations such as Bournemouth, Cardiff, Leeds, Edinburgh, Portsmouth, Bristol, Glasgow and Manchester. | |
Meanwhile, the Association of British Travel Agents said 4.5m people were expected to travel abroad in the coming days. | |
It said airports, ports and international train stations would be exceptionally busy and that people should begin their journeys earlier than usual. | |
About 260 rail engineering projects, including track maintenance, will cause problems elsewhere later on. | |