Millions of people embarking on Christmas getaways face disruption from strikes and congestion. Here the PA news agency answers 11 questions about how journeys will be affected on Friday and Saturday:
– When is the next rail strike?
Thousands of members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union at Network Rail will walk out from 6pm on Christmas Eve until 6am on December 27.
– What is the advice to people wanting to catch a train on Christmas Eve?
Passengers are being urged only to travel on Christmas Eve “if absolutely necessary”.
– How will services be affected by the strike?
Trains will stop running at around 3pm on Christmas Eve in most locations. Examples of last train departure times include 10.45am from Leeds to London, 11am from London to Edinburgh and 12.48pm from London to Manchester.
– How busy will the roads be?
The AA expects 16.9 million road journeys will be made across the UK on Friday, with a further 16.6 million on Christmas Eve.
– Will the rail strikes make traffic jams worse?
Almost certainly. An RAC survey indicated that nearly half of people affected by rail strikes this month planned to drive themselves or get a lift from someone else.
– Where will the most severe congestion be?
Drivers on the M25, the M60 near Manchester, the M6 in north-west England and the M40 in Oxfordshire are all likely to be stuck in long queues.
– What about the Border Force strike?
Around 1,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union who operate passport booths for Border Force will walk out at Heathrow, Birmingham, Cardiff, Gatwick, Glasgow and Manchester airports.
– When is it happening?
Every day from Friday to the end of the year, except December 27.
– What preparations have been made?
Military personnel and volunteers from the Civil Service have been trained to check passports.
– Why will this affect passengers?
The contingency workers are expected to do the role less efficiently than the striking Border Force officials, which could result in long queues.
– How could the situation escalate?
If queues in immigration halls get too long then arriving passengers could be held on planes, preventing subsequent departures from taking off on time.
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