Travel chaos as getaway begins

BRITAIN is set to grind to a standstill this Bank Holiday weekend amid warnings of travel misery for rail passengers and motorists.

An estimated seven million people will be trying to get away over the three-day break. But chaos looms with train companies warning of engineering work causing disruption on several lines.

Virgin Trains says its services will be “very busy” with London’s Euston station closed tomorrow and Sunday. A spokesman said: “We are advising customers to avoid travelling unless necessary.

“If customers choose to travel, we strongly recommend they book their tickets in advance, reserve a seat and allow longer to get to their destination.” Services from London Waterloo, which have been disrupted for more than a fortnight, have been reduced even further until Tuesday.

Fewer than half of normal weekday services will run. A Network Rail spokeswoman said: “We apologise to passengers for the added disruption to their journeys. This is all about delivering a bigger, better Waterloo station fit for the 21st century.”

National Express, the UK’s largest coach operator, is putting on an extra 4,000 seats over the weekend to destinations affected by the Euston and Waterloo work.

There are also no trains between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield, Ingatestone, Billericay and Barking on Sunday and because of Crossrail work.

Services between Cardiff and Newport will be reduced until September 3, while no trains will operate between Swindon and Bristol Parkway until September 17.

Meanwhile, an estimated five million drivers will hit the roads.

The busiest routes are expected to be the M5 towards Exeter; the M6 and A590 in the Lake District; the M3 towards Bournemouth and the M1 north of London.

Motorists are being warned to avoid peak times. RAC spokesman Rod Dennis said: “If you want to beat the queues, avoid Friday afternoon and evening if you can and try to get away in good time if you are planning a day trip on Monday.” Monday

ABANK Holiday weekend lies ahead and so, naturally, this country’s rail system will all but grind to a halt, with major engineering works under way and Euston station closed. This is going to cause chaos among many of the seven million planning short-term breaks and it is absolutely outrageous that this is happening once again.

Rail networks know exactly when public holidays are going to be, they have plenty of time to plan for them and yet, as regularly as clockwork (would that we could say the same about their rail services) they choose these busy travelling times to shut down.

This will not do. It is time a major overhaul of the rail companies’ behaviour took place, with stinging fines for those who treat passengers with contempt.

Let the train take the strain? Those were the days.