Easter travel warning: Long delays expected with millions set to travel over bank holiday weekend - latest

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Railway services are expected to contribute to congestion on roads as engineering works continue while Port of Dover issues rumble on.

Warnings have been issued for motorists to expect long delays as around 17 million car journeys are set to take place over the Easter weekend. Engineering works on Railway services are expected to also contribute to congestion.

According to the RAC, major roads in southwest England and some in the Home Counties are likely to experience the worst congestion today (April, 7). With vehicles expected to be as slow as 12 mph on some roads in the UK.

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The A303 westbound near Stonehenge, the M5 south between Bristol and Bridgwater and the M25 anticlockwise between Hertfordshire and Surrey are all expected to see more than double the normal amount of traffic.

The rest of Easter weekend is set to see much of the same amount of traffic, with Easter Sunday being the busiest and Saturday and Monday being just marginally better.

Rod Dennis, RAC Breakdown spokesperson, said: "The south and west of the UK are the areas to watch as they’re home to some vital roads responsible for carrying vast numbers of people to the holiday destinations of the West Country - so our advice to anyone heading that way is to get on the road as early as possible on Good Friday, or travel on a different day entirely."

Additionally, for rail services, queues are likely to be increased by engineering work which includes the closure of London Euston station over the bank holiday weekend.

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Those choosing to travel by ferry could face up to 120 minutes of delays should they use the Port of Dover over the weekend. Ferry operator DFDS have urged people to "allow 120 minutes to complete border controls and check-in as the double bank holiday weekend is expected to be "busy".

This comes after chaos ensued at the port last weekend when thousands of people were delayed for reportedly up to 14 hours.

Traffic at Port of Dover (Photo by Stuart Brock/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)Traffic at Port of Dover (Photo by Stuart Brock/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Traffic at Port of Dover (Photo by Stuart Brock/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) | Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

DFDS said that at one point on Thursday there were queues of approximately 90 minutes for passport checks by French officials as the Easter rush officially kicked off.

One silver lining is that airports are running much more smoothly this year following last year’s delays and cancellations. However, travellers are still advised to give themselves extra time to get to the airport over the weekend due to the traffic issues.

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