London Evening Standard/London
The great summer getaway will begin in earnest tomorrow amid warnings of heavy traffic on the roads and holiday disruption on key rail routes.
Motoring organisations told drivers to expect delays of up to an hour on routes out of London tomorrow, and advised motorists to leave town before 2pm or after 6pm. During this peak, congestion will be 20% worse than on a normal Friday.
Saturday will see the worst congestion as hundreds of thousands head off at the start of school summer holidays.
On the trains, major reconstruction work at London Bridge between August 23 and 31 will mean no First Capital Connect or Southern services can call at the station, affecting up to 50,000 commuters every hour.
There will also be no direct trains to Gatwick or Luton Airport stations from London Bridge.
The West Coast Mainline will shut for three weekends in August due to engineering work at Watford.
There will be no mainline trains between Euston and Hemel Hempstead for six days next month.
Jim Syddall, acting route managing director for Network Rail, said: “The section of track at Watford is one of the most intensively used, high-speed pieces of railway in Britain.
“There is never a good time to close the railway and we apologise for the inconvenience caused but this work is essential to maintain reliable train services for the millions of passengers who travel on this route every year.”
According to traffic service INRIX, the worst affected roads include the M25 between Gatwick airport and the M1, and the A4 from Piccadilly to the M4.
Chris Lambert, INRIX traffic expert, said: “On Friday, although the morning rush hour will be noticeably lighter than usual, that won’t last for long. By about 11am, traffic levels will already be starting to rise and they’ll peak between 4pm and 5pm.”
Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, added: “The biggest seasonal changes in traffic are routinely seen on routes to the West Country, but even those families leaving the capital for overseas holidays should beware — congestion on the roads could delay them getting to air and seaports.
“Drivers should allow extra time to negotiate usual trouble spots.”
Gatwick’s busiest departure day of the summer is this Friday, with around 77,000 flying from the airport.
Heathrow will handle more than 6mn passengers over the next month. Boss John Holland-Kaye said the tightening of security ordered earlier this month on US flights had not caused delays for passengers, “because people are coming to the airport earlier.”
Two-year-old Reggie Jackson plays in the sea during the hot summer weather by Brighton pier in southern England yesterday.
