Winter weather an and rail strikes to hit weekend ge getaway

THE cold weather that gripped the coun country for weeks will make a return over Easter, adding to travel woes and rail c closures.

Th The Met Office has forecast that snow could fall in several areas over the bank holiday weekend, which coul could add to congestion and delays on the r roads.

It is expected there will be temperature lows of 14F (-10C), as well as bitingly cold winds and possible snowfall.

Th The RAC has warned motorists not to ge get caught out by the weather, with the rroads roads like likely to be more busy than usua usual al because of works on the railways.

Ro Rod od Denni Dennis, an RAC traffic spokesman man, n, said: ““The getaway for Easter tend tends ds to be on one of the busiest of the year.

““But But if peo people are hoping for springlike ke warmth to accompany the longer days, the they might well be disappointed.

“With a distinctly wintry feel to the weat weather persisting right up to Easter i itself, millions of families will nee need to make sure they still bundle their hats and thick coats as they pack up the car so they don’t ge get caught out.”

Mr D Dennis added: “The good news is that the majority of roadworks o on England’s major roads will be free of works around the main Easter Ea weekend.

“Howe “However, that’s not the case on t the railw railways with some major wo works orks plan planned, so that will likely mea mean an more people turning to cars, buse buses and coa coaches in some parts of the country. The message to drivers is to plan ahead an and try to avoid the busiest times on the roads, which are likely to be Maundy Thursday T and Good Friday itself itself.” ”

The RMT rail union has announced strikes over the Easter weekend including members on the South Western Railway. Strikes are also expected on Greater Anglia Train services.

Richard Dean, Greater Anglia service delivery director, said: “We have had some very constructive talks with RMT union officials and we still hope we can resolve this issue by talking.

The company said it would continue to run a full service during any strike action using stand-in conductors. It said they have been trained to the same standards as the usual conductors for the routes they operate.