MILLIONS TO FACE ROAD AND RAIL CHAOS – Over August Bank Holiday 

Millions face road and rail chaos over the forthcoming August bank holiday, amid warnings of traffic tailbacks and a rail strike. Drivers are being warned of long delays on major routes, with 17.6 million trips by car expected to be made over the long weekend.

Meanwhile, CrossCountry, the long-distance train operator, urged passengers not to travel at all on Saturday because of an RMT strike over the scanning of electronic tickets. The RAC, which issued an alert about road congestion on Tuesday, urged drivers to set off as early as possible or “be prepared to spend longer in traffic”.

The South East and South West are expected to have some of the worst congestion. Friday is expected to see some three million journeys for holidays or day trips by drivers looking to make the most of the last long weekend before Christmas in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the RAC said. This rises to 3.4 million on Saturday, 2.4 million on Sunday and 2.7 million on Monday.

The RAC said an additional 6.1 million drivers were planning leisure trips at some point between Friday and Monday. The figures are based on responses to a national survey of 2,080 adults, extrapolated to the 34 million cars registered in the UK.