Travel disruption warning as millions make Christmas getaway

Motorists and rail passengers are being warned of heavy traffic and disruption as millions travel to see family and friends before Christmas.

On the roads, the RAC estimates 2.2m journeys will be made today and 1.9m on Sunday, with delays of up to an hour in some of the most congested parts of Britain.

The worst part of the country for delays today will be the M40 north from J8A (Oxford) to M42 Warwickshire, where drivers could face an extra 61 minutes on their trip time.

Those keen to avoid jams should keep off the roads between 10.30am and 4pm, and make their journey before 9.30am or after 7.30pm, the RAC has said.

On Sunday, the window of bad traffic will narrow to just 4pm to 6.30pm, but the RAC suggests making a trip before 11am or after 8pm to be sure of the best conditions.

Union members in two rail networks are striking today, forcing reduced services as passengers try to get to and from the capital and around the north of England.

South Western Railway is running a reduced service on the majority of its lines after RMT announced another strike over the issues of guards on the trains.

The rail firm said in a statement that the RMT was “ensuring that maximum misery is inflicted” by holding the strike just before Christmas.

“This action is totally unnecessary,” the statement said. “We have guaranteed to roster a guard on every train, and we need more, not fewer guards – 70 more by May 2019 – and we have an opportunity with the introduction of the new suburban trains to operate these trains differently to maximise the customer benefits.”

On Northern Rail, a reduced service will begin after 5pm and there are planned cancellations in place for 23 December.

David Brown, managing director at Northern, said: “We expect all of our services, and those of other operators, to be extremely busy and are calling on our customers to plan their travel carefully for the coming weekend, check the new timetables well in advance, and make sure they do not rely on the last trains home.”

The network will not be running trains to Manchester from Liverpool, Kirkby or Warrington Central and will stop running some others as early as 4.38pm.

In London, there will be no service on TfL rail from 23 December, with limited services across some tube lines and the overground.

Those travelling on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day have been warned to check before they travel as there will be a Sunday service on many lines, finishing earlier than usual. There will be no public transport on Christmas Day.

Meanwhile, Gatwick Airport is still recovering after three days of drone chaos in its airfield. More than 100,000 passengers were affected when the airport had to close its runway for hours at a time as drones were sighted.

(c) Sky News 2018: Travel disruption warning as millions make Christmas getaway