Rail and road users face the prospect of a ‘frantic Friday’

Strikes, roadworks and railway maintenance conspire to bring chaos to Christmas travel plans

PEOPLE embarking on Christmas getaways have been told to prepare for disruption as record numbers are expected to take to the roads in light of train travel chaos.

Drivers have been warned that roads will be “bumper to bumper”, as rail passengers face engineering works, a new timetable and strikes.

Cancellations and delays caused problems for commuters on the first day of the new train timetables yesterday, with staff shortages, signalling problems, a landslip and continuing industrial action among the issues.

It comes just days before families start the holidays, with schools breaking up at the end of the week in what has been nicknamed “frantic Friday”.

There are 386 engineering projects running over Christmas, and passengers on South Western Railway are facing strike action which has already brought severely reduced services.

Those on the roads are unlikely to fare much better as there will be more than 2,000 roadworks on major routes.

About 31.2 million leisure trips are expected between today and Christmas Eve, according to the RAC.

Ben Aldous, who works at the company, said: “Our figures suggest many more drivers are planning leisure trips by car in the run-up to Christmas this year, so bumper-to-bumper traffic on some motorways and major A-roads is a near-guarantee.”

A spokesman for the RAC said problems on the railways “tend to force more people on to the roads”.

Network Rail last night reminded rail passengers to check before they travel over Christmas and New Year, but a spokesman insisted they had minimised disruption compared with previous years.

Most of the £111 million upgrades will take place on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, when traditionally lines are either shut or running a minimal service.

Great Western has no trains between London and Reading from Dec 24 to Dec 27, and between Bristol and Cardiff from Dec 27 to Jan 2.

The closure of London King’s Cross on Christmas Day and Boxing Day will spill over into the morning of Dec 27, while Paddington, another of the country’s busiest stations, will also be closed for those three days.

Greater Anglia Rail services between London and Norwich will not run over New Year, and South Western’s London to Portsmouth route has lines shut from Dec 28 to Dec 30.

Heathrow Express and Gatwick Express services will also be affected.

Andrew Haines, the chief executive of Network Rail, said: “Our passengers

‘Bumper-to-bumper traffic on some motorways and major A-roads is a near-guarantee’

expect and deserve a more reliable railway. That’s why this Christmas we are working on the railway across the country to improve services.

“We know that some of our passengers will have important plans to visit friends and family, so please do check before you travel.”

♦ A heavily-polluted road which is partially enclosed is to become Britain’s first zero-emission street, with all petrol and diesel cars banned. Beech Street, which runs under the Barbican in London, will only be accessible to pedestrians, cyclists and zero emission vehicles from next spring. Breaches of the ban will attract £130 fines.

Electric and hydrogen vehicles will be able to access the street. Hybrid vehicles can only use it if they are able to drive for at least 20 miles in zero-emission mode. Emergency and refuse collection vehicles will be exempt from the ban. The No 153 buses that use the street are already fully electric.