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Rail works hit holiday travellers Rail users warned about delays
(about 12 hours later)
People travelling over the bank holiday weekend could face serious delays as work on the West Coast Mainline affects trains between London and Birmingham. People travelling on the West Coast Mainline over the bank holiday are facing delays due to track upgrades.
Rail companies said they schedule work for bank holiday weekends because fewer people use the network then. A journey from London to Manchester is about an hour longer and passengers are being advised to plan their routes using the National Rail website.
They also said there are 3,500 more trains this holiday compared with last year and services will be unaffected. But rail firms said there are 3,500 more trains this holiday compared with last year with most running normally.
Motorists faced tailbacks on Friday as heavy bank holiday traffic combined with several incidents on major roads. The Highways Agency said there were no major problems on the roads although south-west England remained busy.
Latest travel news on UK roads Latest travel news on UK roads The total volume of traffic was slightly down on last year, an agency spokesman said.
The Association of Train Operating Companies (Atoc) said track and points on the line are being upgraded to make them more reliable and need less maintenance. The A1 northbound is closed between junctions 38 and 39 due to a fatal accident, with a diversion in place.
The organisation added that there were 15% fewer replacement bus services than during last year's August bank holiday. And the M6 north of Lancaster is quite busy, with more congestion expected as football fans head to matches on Saturday afternoon.
However, people who are travelling by rail over the weekend - especially on the West Coast Mainline - are being advised to check before they travel. Drivers in south-west England should expect some congestion because so many people were heading towards the coast.
Buses will replace trains on more than 1,000 miles of rail routes over the weekend. The M5 near Bristol is back to normal after 20-mile tailbacks on Friday caused by a fatal incident.
Major August Bank Holiday events and traffic congestion hotspotsEnlarge ImageMajor August Bank Holiday events and traffic congestion hotspotsEnlarge Image
And many northbound services from London Euston - run by Virgin Trains and London Midland and Southern - are affected by engineering works on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The AA had predicted congestion would be up by a third compared with a normal weekend, with 14 million drivers expected on the roads.
On the roads, motorists faced long delays on Friday following a series of incidents on major roads. A spokesman for the Association of Train Operating Companies (Atoc) said there were no major problems on the network.
The M5 near Bristol had 20-mile tailbacks, while the M25 in Surrey and the M58 in Lancashire were also hit. People using the West Coast Mainline should plan their routes and expect longer journey times.
Many drivers on the M5 near Bristol were stuck in their cars for more than five hours, after lanes were closed between junctions 18a and 19, because of an incident which resulted in a man falling to his death from the Avonmouth Bridge. Track and points are being upgraded on the line, which would be back to normal on Monday afternoon.
An accident on the anti-clockwise M25 in Surrey, between J6 and J5, caused queues of up to six miles, affecting people bound for Gatwick. Many northbound services from London Euston - run by Virgin Trains, London Midland and Southern - are affected by engineering works on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
Another serious accident led to the closure of a westbound section of the M58 near Skelmersdale in Lancashire. Buses will replace trains on more than 1,000 miles of rail routes over the weekend.
Two lanes of the M62 were closed in Greater Manchester, while there was also heavy traffic reported on the northern part of the M25, the A303 near Stonehenge in Wiltshire, the M23 in Surrey and the M4 in Berkshire. But Atoc said there were 15% fewer replacement bus services than during last year's August Bank Holiday.
The AA predicted congestion would be up by a third compared with a normal weekend, with 14m drivers expected on the roads. It says that work is scheduled for bank holiday weekends because fewer people use the network then.
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