Christmas travel warning as trains set to be cancelled and roads 'gridlocked'

Anyone travelling this Christmas season has been warned of delays on the rails and road as people rush home to see loved ones. The AA has issued an amber traffic warning for UK drivers detailing the exact dates, and the exact roads, you will want to avoid in the days ahead as jams will be worse than at any similar time on record.

The traffic experts predict that Friday, December 20, will be the busiest with an estimated 23.7 million drivers planning a trip. That is more than the busiest Christmas getaway day of any year since the AA began recording data in 2010 meaning that some areas could be gridlocked.

The joint second worst days for traffic this year are expected to be Saturday, December 21, and Monday, December 23, each with 22.7 million drivers. Elsewhere, rail engineering work will lead to more pressure on the roads with several lines closed. London Liverpool Street station will be closed from Christmas Day until January 2, and no trains will call at London Paddington between Friday December 27 and Sunday December 29, Mirror reports.

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There will be no direct services between Crewe and Liverpool – and a reduced service between Crewe and Manchester – from Saturday December 28 until Friday January 3. Services in the Cambridge area will be disrupted between Friday December 27 and Sunday January 5, affecting CrossCountry, Greater Anglia, Great Northern and Thameslink.

Major engineering work will take place across the Thameslink network during the festive period, closing various lines. There will be no trains running between Harpenden and London from Saturday December 21 to Sunday December 29.

Rail minister Lord Hendy has expressed concern that Christmas train services could be disrupted by staffing shortages. Many train drivers and other crew members do not have Sunday working included in their contracts, with numerous operators often relying on them volunteering to work extra paid shifts to run timetabled services on that day.

Giving evidence to the Commons’ Transport Select Committee on Wednesday, Lord Hendy said the Government is concerned about “staffing of Christmas services”.

Alex Hynes, director general for the Department for Transport’s rail services group, added: “Generally as a system, we’re over-reliant on overtime working for train crew. That’s a risk, which may be worse at Christmas time than other times.”

Amber traffic warnings have been issued by the AA for all three days, and the experts have explained which roads will be worst:

• The M4/M5 interchange near Bristol
• The M25 near Heathrow airport, west London
• The M5/M6 interchange near Birmingham
• he M60 near the Trafford Centre, Manchester
• The M1 near Meadowhall, Sheffield

Brumwish 2024 - buy a gift for a child in need

BrumWish 2024 is Birmingham Live's festive drive to get thousands of gifts to children and young people across our city - among them the homeless, the vulnerable, kids in care, kids who are poorly or struggling, and kids who have little.

There are THREE simple ways to help.

1. Buy a new gift from the Brumwish 2024 Amazon giftlist. In just a click your donation will be whizzing its way to our volunteers at Edgbaston Stadium.
2. Donate money to the appeal fund hosted by Thrive Together Birmingham - this will help pay for gifts for kids with specialist needs or specific wishes.
3. Buy a gift and, even better, rope in friends, neighbours and workmates to do the same, then drop off your pressies at Edgbaston Stadium, Edgbaston Road, B5 7QU on Friday 6th December, 10am - 3pm; Saturday 7th December, 10am - 1pm; or Monday 9th December, 10am - 1pm. Volunteers will be there to help you. Please don't wrap your gifts. You can also drop off by arrangement until Monday 16th December - contact Louise on 07469 979286.

Thanks to our partnership with #Toys4Birmingham, every single gift will find a good home in the loving care of a child living in B&Bs or hotels, hostels or refuges, children receiving support from specialist organisations and charities, and families being supported by children's centres and charities around the city.

Making up the Brumwish and Toys4Birmingham gang are Thrive Together Birmingham, Birmingham Playcare Network, Warwickshire Cricket Foundation (the charitable arm of Warwickshire County Cricket Club), Birmingham Forward Steps and BirminghamLive/Birmingham Mail.

Thank you to Amazon UK and the amazing team at the Sutton Coldfield depot for their support.