Rail and road trips disrupted on what is expected to be one of busiest travel days of year

This article is more than 9 months old

This article is more than 9 months old

Heavy rain and flooding have wreaked havoc on railways and roads in parts of the UK as pre-Christmas travel is expected to peak.

Journeys were disrupted in southern and eastern England on one of the busiest travel days of the year, combining many commuters’ last working day before Christmas with a surge in getaway traffic. About 17 million drivers were expected to travel on Britain’s main roads and motorways on Friday.

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Some areas of southern England and Wales recorded around 5cm of rain in 36 hours, and the Met Office issued dozens of flood warnings across England, with rain forecast to persist in some areas until Sunday.

Flooding in Sussex put part of the railway line between Brighton and London underwater, causing all northbound trains from the coastal city to be cancelled on Friday morning.

The rail and road problems meant travellers struggled to reach Gatwick airport. Rail passengers were advised to make alternative arrangements while Network Rail worked to restore services on the Thameslink route, with some express trains from the capital also affected. The motorway serving the airport, the M23, was also shut after a nearby river burst its banks.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Flooding at the M23 as a river has burst its banks and is flowing down on to the carriageway. Photograph: @HighwaysSEAST/PA

Landslips closed rail lines near Maidstone, in Kent, and Guildford, in Surrey, affecting trains on the South Western and Southeastern franchises.

In Devon and Cornwall, police said flooding in the region had made a number of roads impassable, while Norfolk and Suffolk police said roads in both counties were affected by flood water.

The Met Office said localised flooding was likely to cause delays in some areas through the weekend.

Festive travel congestion was expected to peak on Friday afternoon, although motoring organisations said drivers could face lighter traffic than usual because of staggered holidays and a midweek Christmas.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Rail tracks in Balcombe flooded on Friday. Photograph: Network Rail Kent and Sussex/PA

The AA said polling of its members showed traffic would decline after Friday night, but indicated potential last-minute shopping jams on Saturday. The worst traffic was expected on stretches of the M40 approaching Bicester village, with delays forecast on Saturday afternoon by the RAC breakdown service.

The worst hotspots for traffic delays were expected on motorways, including the north-western M25, the M5 between Bristol and Weston-super-Mare and the M6 around Birmingham, the AA said.

The RAC said there could also be long queues on the northbound M1 on Sunday afternoon, according to data from the traffic analysts Inrix.

However, it said people driving home for Christmas early next week could expect a quieter journey, with work and business traffic falling away. Weather conditions should also be much drier from Sunday night onwards, according to Met Office forecasts.

Highways England said 98% of England’s motorways and major A-roads would be clear of roadworks between Friday and 2 January. And Network Rail said the vast majority of the UK’s railways would be open, apart from a two-day closure of the entire network on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, when more than 20,000 staff will be involved in £100m of engineering projects.

Work on the Great Western railway means there will be no trains from London Paddington between 24-27 December, and a reduced timetable between 28-31 December. And engineering works at London King’s Cross will affect services running north until late on Friday 27 December, while work near Liverpool Street station will affect Greater Anglia services over the holidays.

The busiest day at Heathrow airport is expected to be on Saturday, when 255,133 passengers are due to fly in or out.

For those tempted to make their flights more festive, the UK aviation industry relaunched its “One Too Many” campaign to warn passengers of the potential consequences, including £80,000 fines for drunken passengers who disrupt flights.