Bank holiday motorists face hour-long delays and rail despair over Easter break

Connor Parker
Updated
'M6 motorway in the West Midlands, during evening rush hour.For other rush hour shots see See also:'
The RAC has asked people to plan well for their travel to avoid the worst traffic. (Getty)

Drivers are being warned they could face severe traffic jams over Easter weekend with more than 25 million car journeys expected and railways disrupted across the country.

Good Friday will be the busiest day with delays of up to an hour on the worst affected roads between 11am and 4.30pm, RAC research suggests.

According to the RAC's research, some of the worst affected roads will have delays of up to an hour.
According to the RAC's research, some of the worst affected roads will have delays of up to an hour.

Some of the worst jams are expected on the M5 southbound, passing west of Bristol (J16 to J19), which is part of the popular holiday route towards Devon and Cornwall.

Other roads that are expected to be busy are the M25 anticlockwise from Bromley through the Dartford Tunnel to the A13, the M6 north between Preston and Lancaster, and the M62 west between Leeds and Manchester.

Highways England said it will remove more than 450 miles of roadworks in time for the Easter bank holiday, meaning 99% of motorways and major A-roads in England will be clear of cones.

RAC spokesman Rod Dennis said he expected a "significant" wave of Easter getaway traffic to cause problems on Britain's highways.

He said: “This will mean the coming week and the bank holiday will likely be characterised by lengthy queues in some spots.

“Traffic jams are frustrating at the best of times and while we can predict where some of these will crop up, it only takes a single bump or breakdown for huge tailbacks to form.”

Worst delays expected on Good Friday

  • North West M62 west J27 to J18 at 12.45pm, 56 minute delay expected

  • North West M6 north J31 to J34 at 3.30pm, 39 minute delay expected

  • North East A64 north Fulford to Barton Hill at 1.30pm, 32 minute delay expected

  • Greater London M25 anticlockwise J4 to J30 at 11.45am, 30 minute delay expected

  • South West M5 south J16 to J19 at 11.45am, 21 minute delay expected

Dan Croft, incident group operations manager at traffic data firm Inrix, said: “During peak hours over Easter, journeys could take UK drivers three times longer than usual.

“We are predicting Good Friday will be the worst for traffic from late morning into the afternoon.

The problem will be made worse by disruption on the rail network with over 400 engineering works planned across the country.

London, United Kingdom - July 21, 2013: Euston Train Station in London, with a man checking the timetable for his next train departure, with other commuters waiting in front of massive electronic departures/arrivals information board, while other travellers pass by to either other bus/train services or The Tube. Under the panel many fast foods, cafes and small retail shops and ATMs are available.Euston station is one of the busiest stations in London, along with St. Pancreas, Victoria and Waterloo stations, as it host the train, bus and underground services in one place.
Euston train station will be closed during Easter weekend as it prepares for HS2. (Getty)

According to Network Rail trains only carry half their normal travellers at Easter compared to the rest of the year.

London Euston – the fifth busiest station in the UK – will be closed between Good Friday and Easter Monday as the station prepares for HS2, affecting most West Coast services.

There will also be no trains at London Fenchurch Street, an amended service between Preston and Glasgow Central, and some lines through Wimbledon will be closed.

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