Millions of people endure traffic, strikes and bad weather on journey home for Christmas
24 December 2022, 08:39 | Updated: 24 December 2022, 16:04
Millions of people have faced difficult journeys home for Christmas because of severe road traffic and strikes cutting back train services.
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Nearly 17 million cars were on UK roads on Saturday, according to the AA, which lead to long traffic jams on major routes - and more pressure was added by striking railway workers.
The industrial action held by thousands of members of the RMT union (RMT) at Network Rail, which runs the railways themselves, means trains stopped running early on Saturday, and some routes had no services all day.
The early closure means the last departures on some long-distance routes was before 1pm.
Services to Crewe, Manchester Piccadilly, Glasgow Central and Birmingham International from Euston were all delayed with a limited staff presence as travellers waited anxiously with their luggage on Saturday.
Some told of their frustration at short notice cancellations but others voiced support for workers on strike.
Student Kartik Aggarwal, 24, said he was "very irritated" after two services in a row were cancelled, meaning he faced missing a Christmas party in Birmingham.
Speaking at Euston alongside some of his family members, he told the PA news agency: "It's been really bad. We were planning for a long time only to have two trains get cancelled with no notification.
"We came running but still nothing. I feel very irritated, like we're wasting our time."
PhD student Amy Saunders, 31, said disruption to her journey to see family for Christmas was stressful but expressed her sympathy with those on strike, who she said would find the situation equally difficult.
Speaking as she awaited a service she said had been delayed from Euston, she told PA: "I support the strikes and I'm sure it's equally stressful for everyone working here trying to get everyone home for Christmas, and they wouldn't need to strike if their working conditions weren't intolerable.
"Everyone's really struggling and there needs to be more support."
Scores of commuters hoping to reach their destination were watching the departures board at the busy station for updates on their journey.
No South Western Railway trains ran on several routes to and from London Waterloo, including Reading, Twickenham and Dorking.
Chiltern Railways did not operate any trains to or from Oxford, or north of Banbury.
No trains operate on Britain's railways on Christmas Day.
The normal limited Boxing Day schedule has been scrapped due to the strike, while services will start later than usual on December 27.
Christmas is a key period for maintenance work on the railways. Network Rail planned a £120 million programme of more than 300 projects over the festive period this year. It said "around 85%" of this work will still go ahead despite the RMT action.
This caller is furious at the strikes happening over the Christmas period
Meanwhile the AA reported "severe congestion" on several motorway stretches on Friday, including the north and west sections of the M25, the M1 around Luton, Bedfordshire, the M4 and M5 near Bristol, the M5 north of Birmingham, the M60 west of Manchester and the M8 near Glasgow.
AA president Edmund King said: "We're expecting Christmas Day to be quieter with shorter local journeys.
"On Boxing Day traffic will pick up again with approximately 15 million trips as people head out to see friends and family."
It comes after many drivers battled a band of heavy rain on Friday which moved north from southern England and Wales to southern Scotland and Northern Ireland.
This 70-year-old caller is in full support of strike action despite his own vulnerability.
Border Force strikes continued at six UK airports but there was minimal disruption on the first day of the walkout on Friday as armed forces personnel were deployed to check passports. Some passengers reported more disruption on Saturday.
