UK travelers to face delays due to strikes, jams

Planned Network Rail works will push more people onto the roads for the bank holiday getaway, followed by rail strikes the week after

The bank holiday getaway traffic congestion will mark the beginning of a challenging 10 days on the UK’s roads and railways, with rainy weather in early May compounded by engineering works and train driver strikes.

Motoring organizations anticipate the longest delays on Friday afternoon, especially on routes from London to the southwest. The RAC predicts approximately 16 million extra leisure car trips over the long weekend, which is higher than average for the first May bank holiday. However, analysts at Inrix suggest that roads will be less congested compared to the similarly affected Easter getaway.

The closure of sections of the west coast mainline, one of Britain’s major rail routes, may lead to increased traffic on motorways this weekend. There will be no trains running out of London Euston on Sunday, and a reduced service will operate for the rest of the weekend. Additional closures near Coventry, Crewe, and Carlisle will require replacement buses or alternative routes for passengers traveling from the Midlands, especially those heading to Scotland.

Rail services in Cambridge and Liverpool will also face disruptions over the weekend. Passengers are advised to check before traveling, as Network Rail is undertaking 487 separate projects as part of a £75m program during the bank holiday.

Anit Chandarana, Network Rail’s system operator director, stated that most of the railway network would remain open for business as usual. He added, “We know people prefer to travel by train rather than replacement bus services, and we strive to schedule as much work as possible during these closures to minimize the impact on passengers and freight customers.”

On Bank Holiday Monday, another week of industrial action by train drivers in the Aslef union will begin, featuring a nationwide overtime ban until the following Saturday. Starting on Tuesday, drivers will strike for 24 hours at each of England’s national train operators.

This series of rolling 24-hour stoppages will result in significant disruptions across much of the network, with many routes left without any train services. Additionally, the overtime ban will reduce schedules and severely disrupt some routes.

During the strike days, most operators will suspend all train services, impacting certain cross-border services to Wales and Scotland.