Millions face getaway chaos over Bank Holiday weekend with 18m to hit roads & trains cancelled – worst times to travel

MILLIONS of drivers are facing down travel chaos this weekend as the bank holiday begins.

Train services have been hit with disruption and drivers are planning to take to the roads in force.

Stuart BrockHundreds of cars were spotted queuing at the Port of Dover earlier this morning[/caption]

GettyDrivers have been warned to leave early or expect to sit in traffic[/caption]

Stuart BrockTraffic at the Port of Dover was slowed as drivers went through border control checks[/caption]

Hundreds of cars were seen queuing outside Dover port this morning as drivers made a scrabble to get away ahead of the traffic.

Cars were pictured backed up as far as the eye could see with traffic jams at the port already beginning to build early in the morning.

Traffic at the port was slowed with hundreds of drivers seen trying to get through border control checks.

Traffic was also spotted building up on the M4 towards Heathrow Airport as holidaymakers rushed to catch flights.

In England and Wales 17.6 million drivers are set to make journeys between Friday and Monday.

It comes as travellers are warned of train chaos over the bank holiday weekend with rail staff planning to strike and engineering works due to get underway.

The RAC has warned drivers that the worst times to travel are between 10am and 7pm on Friday, 9am and 5pm on Saturday and 11am and 6pm on Monday

Particularly heavy traffic is expected on the M5 between Bristol and Devon.

The RAC said traffic will start building on Friday with three million trips planned.

That number rises to 3.4 million on Saturday, before dropping slightly to 2.4 million on Sunday and climbing back to 2.7 million on Monday.

A further 6.1 million drivers said they would be on the roads at some point across the long weekend.

Although slightly down on last year’s record 19.2 million trips, the forecast is still the second-highest since 2020.

The RAC has urged drivers to set off as early as possible or “be prepared to spend longer in traffic.”

The figures are based on responses to a survey of 2,080 UK adults, extrapolated to the 34 million cars licensed in the UK.

AlamyMillions of Brits are aiming to make the most of the last bank holiday weekend before the Christmas period[/caption]

Stuart BrockTraffic is expected to build throughout the day with huge queues already seen heading into the Port of Dover[/caption]

AlamyTrain services are also being disrupted with engineering works and strikes planned over the weekend[/caption]

Rail services are also facing heavy disruption with strikes and engineering works hitting several routes.

CrossCountry rail routes from Aberdeen to Cornwall are due to be disrupted as the RMT union strikes over pay, safety and staffing.

CrossCountry services are reportedly going to come to a grinding halt on Saturday with the RMT walking out over ticket scanning.

Network Rail are planning 261 projects nationwide, including a total shutdown of the East Coast main line between London King’s Cross and Peterborough on Sunday.

The works will affect long-distance trains to Scotland run by LNER and Lumo.

Avanti West Coast services will be reduced and some diverted and London Euston is also due to be affected, with a limited timetable for Avanti services.

No trains will run between Birmingham New Street and Birmingham International from Saturday to Monday.

Brits are aiming to capitalise on the last bank holiday weekend before the Christmas period as massive events across the country draw crowds.

London’s Notting Hill Carnival, the Reading and Leeds festivals, the Emerge festival in Belfast, the Edinburgh Fringe closing weekend, the Creamfields festival in Cheshire and the Women’s Rugby World Cup opener in Sunderland are all set to take place over the weekend.

The bank holiday weekend is also due to bring lovely weather to the country with western England, Wales Northern Ireland and Scotland expecting sunny spells in the afternoon on Saturday.

Sunday will be dry and bright as spells of sunshine break through a few areas of cloud.

Central and southern England will be the warmest places to be over the weekend according to forecasts.

RAC mobile servicing and repairs team leader Nick Mullender said: “We’re expecting major roads to airports and coastal destinations to be extremely busy, especially the south-east and south-west regions which could end up bearing the brunt of most holiday hold-ups.

“Anyone planning routes through these areas should set off as early as possible or be prepared to spend longer in traffic.”