According to the RAC, this Easter weekend on UK roads could possibly be the busiest in at lease eight years, as rail travel continues to be disrupted due to engineering work taking place.
The British automotive services company, claims around 21.5 million leisure trips will be made by car between Good Friday to Easter Monday – the most since they started tracking motorists’ Easter getaways back in 2014.
The RAC believes that the busiest single day on UK roads over the Bank Holiday weekend will be Good Friday, so you might want to plan a late departure tonight or a very early start in the morning!
What’s making matters worse this year, is the fact that the West Coast railway line will be closed during the Easter weekend between London Euston and Milton Keynes Central, as upgrades to the existing line and HS2 work take place. This could be a nightmare for Liverpool and Manchester City fans who’ve made plans to travel down for the FA Cup semi-final this Easter Saturday at Wembley.
All customers planning to travel between Euston and Scotland this Easter Weekend are advised to delay their journey until afterwards if possible or leave before Good Friday.
Traffic information provider Inrix has highlighted a number of possible congestion hotspots on the roads this Easter weekend and include:
- The M6 north between junction 26 (Orrell interchange, Greater Manchester) and junction 36 (the Lake District).
- The M25 clockwise from junction 8 (Reigate Hill interchange, Surrey) to junction 16 (Denham interchange, Buckinghamshire).
- The A303 near Stonehenge, Wiltshire.
Motorists are being urged to leave before 9am to avoid as much congestion as possible or wait until after 7:30pm before setting off.
“After two years of relatively quiet Easter bank holidays on the roads, our research suggests a return to traffic levels that are much more typical of this time of year. It’s very possible this weekend could turn out to be one of the busiest for leisure journeys for many years,” said RAC traffic spokesperson Rod Dennis.
Mr Dennis also went on to say: “Add in the impact of disruption on the rail network and one of the biggest fixtures of the sporting calendar taking place this weekend, and you have all the ingredients needed for problems on the roads. Traffic volumes will likely be even higher if some warm spring sunshine makes an appearance.”
As well as possible delays and congestion this weekend, drivers might also be facing the most expensive Easter ever recorded, with the ever increasing fuel prices here in the UK.
According to the latest government figures, the average cost of a litre of petrol as of 4 April, was 161.9p, with diesel at 176p.
A number of petrol stations in areas of the South and Midlands have seen fuel shortages following the clean energy campaign group, Just Stop Oil, blockaded oil terminals.
Further disruptions could occur with other modes of transport over the Easter weekend, as several airlines and airports struggle with staffing problems. Thousands of flights have already been cancelled by easyJet and British Airways over the past few weeks, whilst Manchester airport is warning passengers in advance to expect possible delays of up to 90 minutes.
Motorists in Kent could face large traffic queues as a result of a shortage of cross-Channel sailings following the suspension of operations by P&O Ferries after almost 800 workers were sacked. The company is hopeful that normal service will resume sometime this week pending regulatory approval.
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