Rail passengers faced delays as they rushed to get the last trains before Christmas Eve services came to a halt while Britain’s roads were braced for extra traffic as a consequence of train staff strikes.
People embarking on festive getaways or heading home for the holidays gathered on the concourses of major stations including Euston in London and Birmingham New Street.
A walkout by thousands of members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) at Network Rail means trains were due to stop running early, and some routes had no services all day.
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.
Border Force strikes were continuing at six UK airports.
There was minimal disruption on the first day of the walkout on Friday as armed forces personnel were deployed to check passports, and passengers posting on social media shared a mixed bag of experiences on Christmas Eve.
A passenger at Manchester Airport said it was the “fastest I’ve ever got through” with “no queues anywhere” while someone who flew into Gatwick described “not one queue” adding that “for once it was a pleasure”.
Elsewhere, someone tweeted a picture of a crowded arrivals hall which they said showed immigration queues at Heathrow Airport, while a passenger said they had been standing at the same airport in a “4hr queue to get through border control”.
The AA predicted that nearly 17 million cars would take to UK roads on Saturday, leading to severe congestion on major routes.
On Boxing Day traffic will pick up again with approximately 15 million trips as people head out to see friends and family— AA president Edmund King
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.”
Network Rail said trains would stop running at around 3pm on Christmas Eve.
No South Western Railway trains were running on several routes to and from London Waterloo, including Reading, Twickenham and Dorking, while Chiltern Railways was not operating 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.
