Christmas traffic could be ‘worst in years’ as 23,700,000 journeys planned today

Many thanks for reading our live travel updates as the Christmas getaway begins.

Have a safe onward journey and we’ll be back over the weekend.

Safety fears about a crumbling 1960s town centre flyover could cause major disruption on the Tyne and Wear Metro system lasting a fortnight.

North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said she will see Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander on Monday to discuss what can be done about the situation in Gateshead which is affecting a major road and the Metro.

On December 13, the local council announced that the Gateshead Highway which carries traffic to and from the Tyne Bridge had to close following an inspection.

Gateshead Council said there were ‘serious concerns about the structural integrity of sections of the 1960s-built flyover’.

Yesterday, the Metro operator Nexus announced trains would not be passing between Heworth in Gateshead and Monument in Newcastle city centre, effectively cutting its service in half, caused by the closure of the flyover.

Bus replacement services were running instead.

Addressing the problem, Ms McGuinness said: ‘I have arranged a meeting with the Secretary of State for Transport on Monday, because we need to sort this out as soon as we can to keep people moving around our region and to protect our local economy.

‘It is clear now that the Metro could be stopped between Monument and Heworth for a fortnight, and that Nexus will face an uphill struggle to keep trains going through Sunderland and South Tyneside if it can’t get them back to the maintenance depot.

‘We need two things to happen: Gateshead Council must get on with the short-term repair work on the flyover, putting in measures so that it is safe to run Metro trains through the tunnel underneath – they’re currently estimating 10-14 days for this work to be complete.

‘Then we need a permanent solution, and the funding which previous governments have refused the region to sort the flyover out for good. That is my focus.’

Police are at the scene of a crash on the A38 westbound between the A380 Kennford and B3344 Chudleigh.

The westbound carriageway is currently closed between those two junctions while emergency services work at the scene.

National Highways have put an official diversion route in place, following the solid circle symbols:

• Heading south on Devon Expy/A38
• Use the left 2 lanes to turn slightly left onto A380 (signs for Torquay)
• Take the B3195 exit towards Kingsteignton/Ideford/Combe.
• Continue onto B3195
• Keep left to stay on B3195
• At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Strap Lane
• At the roundabout, continue straight onto Clay Pits Way/B3193
• Continue onto B3344
• Turn right to merge onto Devon Expy/A38 towards Plymouth

There’s a faulty train in the Grindleford area which has forced all lines to close.

All trains running between Sheffield and Manchester Piccadilly are facing delays, cancellations or revisions and the disruption is expected to last until the end of the day.

It’s impacting the following services:

• East Midlands Railway services between Norwich / Nottingham and Liverpool Lime Street
• Northern services between Sheffield and Manchester Piccadilly
• TransPennine Express services between Cleethorpes and Liverpool Lime Street

More trains than usual currently require repairs, meaning there’s a reduced service running between Newport and Ebbw Vale Town.

This is impacting Transport for Wales services between Maesteg / Cardiff Central / Newport and Ebbw Vale Town.

The disruption is expected to last until about 7pm.

Passengers can use their train ticket on Stagecoach bus route 151 between Newport and Ebbw Vale Town at no extra cost.

There are trespassers on the rails near Northampton, meaning all lines through the station are closed.

Services could be cancelled or face half-hour delays.

It’s impacting London Northwestern Railway services between London Euston and Northampton / Birmingham New Street.

Disruption is expected to last until about 6pm.

The contraflow system to manage freight traffic at the Port of Dover will be removed in time for Christmas, it’s been announced.

The Operation Brock system between junctions 8 and 9 of the M20 was put into place on Monday to manage traffic to the port and Eurotunnel terminal during the pre-Christmas rush.

But the Kent Resilience Forum has now decided the contraflow is no longer needed, and it will be removed overnight on Sunday (December 22).

This will require the M20 to be closed coastbound between junctions 7 and 9 from 8pm on Sunday to 6am on Monday.

All lanes have now reopened on the A14 eastbound between junctions 55 and 56, following a crash earlier this afternoon.

Drivers face a long wait to get down the M5 in Devon after hay bales loaded on a lorry caught fire.

The burnt blocks were dumped along the road to save the vehicle from flames.

Along with the emergency response, this has closed two of four southbound lanes between J30 for Exeter and J31 for Shillingford Abbot.

Initially hour-long delays have got worse, with drivers stuck in five miles of congestion facing 90-minute delays.

A clockwise M25 lane is closed between J16 and J17 after a crash today.

This is causing congestion and delays of roughly 10 minutes.

The road should be cleared by 4pm and traffic will return to normal by 5pm.

There is around four miles of congestion on the A14 just outside Ipswich, Suffolk, after a car and lorry crashed.

Just before 2pm, Suffolk Police said: ‘Emergency services are currently at the scene of a two vehicle RTC on the A14 Eastbound in Copdock.

‘There is currently a full eastbound closure of A14 from J55 . Road users are advised to find alternative routes.’

No Southern trains will stop at Beckenham Junction from 2.50pm today due to a shortage of station staff.

Trains due to run to or from the station will instead terminate and start at Birkbeck.

This situation is expected to continue until the end of the day.

A lorry’s load of hay bales caught fire while driving down the M5 southbound this morning.

It’s caused three of four southbound lanes between J30 near Exeter and J31 for Ide to be closed.

Drivers face hour-long delays as a result.

Lines have reopened after an earlier trespasser between Birmingham International and Coventry.

But trains still face cancellations and 20-minute delays due to the knock-on effects.

Services are expected to return to normal between 12.30pm and 1pm.

Southern rail services to and from Southampton face 15-minute delays and early terminations until the end of the day.

This is due to a fault with the signalling system at Southampton Central, meaning fewer trains can run.

Services between there and Brighton will instead stop and start at Portsmouth & Southsea.

Tickets will be accepted at no extra cost on South Western Railway and Great Western Railway.

It’s been days since a normal service ran on the Piccadilly London Underground line.

Today, there are no services between Rayners Lane and Uxbridge because of a shortage of trains stemming from leaf fall.

Meanwhile the line’s link between Heathrow Terminal 5 and Terminal 2 & 3 is suspended due to a signal failure at Terminal 5.

There are severe delays on the rest of the line.

Friday is expected to be the UK’s busiest day on the roads for festive travel.

The AA said an estimated 23.7 million journeys are planned for the day.

That is more than the busiest Christmas getaway day of any year since the organisation began recording data in 2010.

It has identified several likely congestion hotspots, including:

– The M4/M5 interchange near Bristol

– The M25 near Heathrow airport, west London

– The M5/M6 interchange near Birmingham

– The M4 around Cardiff and Newport

– The M8 between Edinburgh and Glasgow

The AA said Christmas Day falling on a Wednesday may help spread festive journeys this year, but could also mean more days of long delays as getaway journeys on Friday are followed by last-minute shopping trips and visits to friends and family.

Heathrow airport expects this will be its busiest December on record for passenger numbers, exceeding the previous high of 6.7 million in 2023.

Around half a million departing passengers are expected at both Manchester and Stansted airports over the Christmas and new year period, with 400,000 at Luton, 200,000 at Birmingham and 175,000 at Bristol.

Mark Tanzer, chief executive of travel trade organisation Abta, said: ‘Christmas and new year are one of the busiest times of year for overseas travel with millions heading off to spend quality time with family and friends.

‘Holidaymakers are either looking for some winter sun or guaranteed snow, as well as the opportunity for everyone to relax and enjoy themselves with someone else doing the hard work of cooking and clearing up after the festivities.

‘We’re encouraging people to plan ahead when making their journeys. Public transport and the roads will be very busy, so always leave plenty of time to arrive at your departure port to avoid any difficulties.’

EasyJet said it is expecting its busiest-ever Christmas and new year period, with up to 4.1 million passengers boarding departures from airports across Europe.

Weather warnings have been issued by the Met Office as rain and disruptive winds of up to 85mph are expected to hit Christmas holiday drivers this weekend.

Yellow wind warnings have been released for the weekend, with one covering Scotland, much of Northern Ireland, north Wales and north-west England between 7am and midnight on Saturday.

Another warning is in place between midnight and 9pm on Sunday, covering Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and all of western England.

Winds of up to 85mph could hit coastal areas across northern Scotland on Saturday afternoon and evening, with more widespread gusts of 50-60mph on Sunday.

Road, rail, air and ferry services in Scotland are all likely to be affected by the weather conditions, Transport Scotland said.

Met Office deputy chief meteorologist, Rebekah Hicks, said: ‘This period of disruptive weather coincides with a busy period on UK roads as the festive getaway starts for many.

‘The area of low pressure will bring rain and strong winds on Saturday, with a chance of significant disruption especially to transport networks across the north, including the potential for ferry cancellations.’