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Five hour traffic jams by Friday as the rail network shuts down for Christmas
By RAY MASSEY, Transport Editor
Last updated at 22:00pm on 18th December 2006

Millions of travellers are being forced off trains and onto gridlocked roads as the great Christmas get-away begins in earnest.

The entire rail network is being shut down for 60 hours over the holiday period - the longest such closure in Europe, it emerged yesterday.

The shutdown - from 8pm on Christmas Eve to 6am on the 27th December - makes a mockery of claims by Government that they want more people to leave their cars at home and travel by public transport.

The reality for millions of people heading home or on holiday this Christmas, is that they have no realistic alternative but the car to get them to their destination this festive season - and that means enduring hours of traffic jams and gridlock.

And there is no let up at the nation's airports where passengers face lengthy queues and delays - if they can reach them at all on the nation's clogged roads.

A combination of frost and fog is set to add to the misery on the roads by the end of the week.

MPs yesterday joined forces with consumer group Passenger Focus to demand a better Yuletide deal for Christmas travellers who face services shutting down between
The UK and the Irish Republic are the only countries in Europe to shut-down the railways over Christmas.

On most of the Continent such as France, Germany and Holland - where Christmas Eve is the main festive day - normal services run but finish early.

Labour MP John Grogan who has tabled a Commons' motion demanding the Department of Transport provide an adequate rail and bus service, said: "People lead busier lives now and may not want to be stuck at home for two days watching repeats on the telly."

The Association of Train Operating Companies said cost was an issue, but noted "railway staff want a Christmas too".

In addition motorists face misery on roads - including those to the airports - which are set to get increasingly clogged, building to a crescendo this Thursday, which experts predict will be the worst for gridlock with the longest afternoon rush-hour of the year lasting 5 hours.

Some 18 million cars - more than half the total - are expected to be on the road over the busy Christmas weekend with the M25 worst affected, according to experts Trafficmaster.

Heathrow and Gatwick Airports have already suffered long queues which are set to persist. They echo the chaotic scenes witnessed at the height of the terror alert in August.

Problems are compounded because Christmas Day this year falls on a Monday - giving an extended Christmas weekend. The added sting in the tail is that rail passengers face inflation-busting rail fare increases in the New Year.

Air passengers are expected to endure lengthy waits and queues with numbers set to peak on Friday when 194,000 people will pass through Heathrow - some 30,000 more than on a normal day.

Airport operator BAA, fearing its screening procedures will be unable to cope, has erected marquee tents at Terminal 4 to cope with overflows.

Security checks are also taking longer because passengers are wearing heavy winter coats which have to be screened separately.

Millions of people are taking to the roads today as the great festive getaway begins in earnest.

Trafficmaster predicts more than 18 million vehicles will use the road network this weekend, peaking today.

The travel information company says this will create the longest evening rush hour of the year, with congestion building from 2pm to 7pm.

A unique mix of lorries making last minute deliveries, Christmas shoppers and families travelling to loved ones is to blame.

For those staying at home, the Highways Agency has suspended roadworks over the festive period on 26 sites from 6am tomorrow until 1am on January 2.

However, roadworks remain in place on a number of busy routes, including some on the M25.

Tomorrow will also be busy, with congestion once again starting around 2pm.

The main black spots are expected to be:

:: M25 Eastern and Western sectors

:: M1 around Luton and in the East Midlands

:: Old M6 between junctions 4 and 10

:: M60 around Manchester

:: M1 and M621 serving Leeds

:: A1M coming out of Gateshead and Newcastle

:: M32 from Bristol

:: M4 between Newport and Cardiff

Up-to-date information on road conditions on Britain's motorways and trunk roads, is available on the agency website at www.highways.gov.uk or call 08457 504030.