Thursday, 29 March 2018

Rail & Road disruption over the Easter weekend





Easter rail disruption

  • Bristol Temple Meads: Closed
  • London Euston: No long distance trains on Easter Sunday
  • Manchester Victoria: Closed
  • Edinburgh to Glasgow: Buses replace trains
  • Hull to Selby: Buses replace trains
  • London to Ingatestone: Buses replace trains
  • Barking to Grays via Rainham: Buses replace trains
  • Crewe to Liverpool: Buses replace trains
  • West Croydon and Sutton/Epsom Downs: Buses replace trains
  • Sevenoaks and Tonbridge: Buses replace trains
  • Luton and Sutton: No Thameslink trains
  • London Bridge and Brighton: No Thameslink trains
  • Carlisle and Glasgow/Edinburgh: Buses replace trains
  • Liverpool and Newcastle: Services only between Leeds and Newcastle 
  • South Western Railway: Possible strike action
  • Docklands Light Railway: Possible strike action 
  • Arriva Rail North (Northern): Possible strike action





Highways England said it will remove works on 99 per cent of motorways and major A-roads in anticipation of the increased traffic.

But motorists still face roadworks including 12 miles of 50mph speed restrictions on the M6 near Coventry and 10 miles of narrow lanes on the M4 near Reading, as some works cannot be paused for the weekend.
And the RAC has warned of congestion on major routes across the UK.



Traffic hotspots  

M25 between Gatwick Airport and M1
M3 south west of London
M4 west of London and between Cardiff and Swansea
A23/M23 to Brighton
A47 Swaffham to Great Yarmouth
M4/M5 around Bristol
M5 from Bristol to Taunton
A303 Stonehenge
A30 and A38 Exeter to Cornwall
M55 between Preston and Blackpool
A14 between the Midlands and the coast
A66 between M6 and the coast
M53 between Liverpool and Chester
A55 North Wales Expressway, Chester to Bangor
Meanwhile, Londoners face disruption to rail services as part of Network Rail’s £118 million works, with London Euston, the UK's fifth busiest station, closed on Sunday, with a reduced service on the previous and following day.
Passengers travelling to and from London Bridge, Waterloo and London Paddington should also expect cancellations, diversions and replacement bus services.
Those travelling between London and Scotland via the West Coast Main Line between Saturday and Monday will have to use replacement buses between Glasgow and either Carlisle or Preston, depending on the day of travel.
And significant work in the Bristol area means no trains will run between Bristol Parkway, Bristol Temple Meads and Yatton/Bath Spa from Friday to Tuesday April 3.

There will also be changes to services at Liverpool Street, while TfL has announced closures on TfL Rail, London Overground, the Northern, Circle, Hammersmith & City and District lines between Friday and Monday.
RAC spokesman Rod Dennis said: “While Easter is a little earlier this year than last, our research suggests drivers are just as keen as ever to get away and make the most of the long weekend. In fact, between Thursday and bank holiday Monday our data indicates around a million more confirmed leisure journeys by car than in 2017.”
The firm said likely Easter traffic hotspots include the M25 between Gatwick Airport and the M1, the M3 south west of London and the M4 west of London and between Cardiff and Swansea.
Highways England confirmed 30 sets of roadworks will remain over the Easter period, including five miles of works on the A64 Bramham to Askham Bryan, four miles on the A1 Leeming to Barton and three miles on the A1(M) (Jct 59 to Jct 60).