Millions of people are on the move this Easter bank holiday weekend amid warnings there could be disruption due to rail engineering works, an airport strike and heavy traffic.
More than 300 maintenance projects will be carried out by Network Rail – including at London Euston Station – over the long weekend, and Gatwick Airport is warning that planned industrial action could impact a “small number of airlines”.
On the roads, the RAC has warned there could be “big [traffic] jams” with nearly 20 million people expected to travel on Good Friday.
Weather could also have an impact with yellow warnings for rain issued for parts of south-west England, south Wales and eastern parts of Northern Ireland.
Kevin Groves, Network Rail’s head of media, said the vast majority of the rail network – over 95% – was “actually open for business as usual”.
But he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme there were “some pockets” of major work, most significantly at London Euston Station, which would be closed from Saturday to Monday.
During this time, there will be no trains running from the station to Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire.
A reduced timetable will operate during the long weekend, and services on the West Coast Main Line will begin and end at Carlisle from Saturday to Monday, with replacement buses covering northern stations.
Meanwhile, half of London Victoria will be shut, with Southeastern trains diverted to London Bridge or London Cannon Street. Routes around Southampton and Brockenhurst will also be hit by closures.
Mr Groves urged passengers travelling during the Easter period to “plan ahead” and check their journeys.
But he said the railway network was going to be “actually quieter” than any other Saturday, Sunday or Monday.
On road travel, an RAC spokesperson warned that there could be “big jams”, adding it was “vital” to plan ahead and “be prepared for trips to take longer because of the wet weather and the expected getaway congestion”.
Traffic hotspots are expected on the M6 in Birmingham and near Blackpool, the south and western M25, the M5 at Bristol and the A303 in Wiltshire.
A crash on the M1 on Friday morning resulted in delays of around an hour and five miles of congestion in Hertfordshire, according to National Highways, with emergency services called to the scene. Two of four lanes were closed northbound between junction 8 and 9 at Hemel Hempstead and Redbourn respectively.
The AA has estimated that nearly 20 million people will be travelling on the roads on Good Friday, with just under that number expected to make journeys over the next three days.
National Highways has also lifted roadworks from more than 1,100 miles of motorway and major A roads, with 97.5% of its network now free of traffic cones.
The Port of Dover has warned that traffic is causing “extended processing times at Border Control”.
Gatwick said it was “aware” of strikes by some union members working for ground handling company Red Handling UK over pensions.
The affected airlines are Air Mauritius, Air Peace, Delta, Ethiopian Airlines, Norwegian, and TAP.
The airport told all passengers travelling with these airlines to contact them directly for more information.
So far, there have not been any delays, but baggage pick-up and drop-off for up to 50 flights could be affected, according to union Unite.
Weather across the long weekend will be a mixed bag.
Good Friday will see some dry and warm weather in eastern England but cloudiness and rain in the west.
Northern Ireland, Wales and south-west England will see the wettest conditions with heavier and more prolonged rain, with a risk of some localised flooding in areas already saturated from recent rainfall.
Met Office yellow warnings have been issued for parts of south Wales and most of south-west England valid from 14:00 BST to 09:00 BST on Saturday and eastern parts of Northern Ireland from 14:00 BST to 15:00 BST Saturday.
The prolonged and occasional heavy rain in these parts might lead to difficult driving conditions and transport disruption.
From Saturday, rain is expected to clear and temperatures will pick up for the rest of the weekend.
