Millions of people are braced for disruption to Christmas Eve getaway journeys due to severe road traffic and strikes decimating train services. The AA predicted that nearly 17 million cars will be on UK roads on Saturday, leading to severe congestion on major routes.
Pressure on the roads will be raised due to industrial action on the railways. A walkout by thousands of members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) at Network Rail means trains will stop running early, while some routes will have no services all day.
The RAC and transport analytics company Inrix said the worst Christmas Eve traffic on major roads will be between midday and 1pm. They highlighted a southbound stretch of the M6 from junction 27 (Chorley, Lancashire) to junction 13 (Stafford, Staffordshire) as the most likely location for long queues.
