Dover travel chaos as drivers face huge queues during Christmas getaway - live
Yellow alerts issued for snow and ice, as well as rain and wind for Christmas weekend
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Yellow alerts issued for snow and ice, as well as rain and wind for Christmas weekend
Storm Pia: 80mph winds batter Britain with 'do not travel' warnings issued
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Drivers are set to face Christmas travel chaos as 16.4 million drivers hit the roads on the busiest day for travel of the year.
Motorists have been advised not drive before 11am or after 6pm to reduce the chances of being stuck on the road.
The AA has issued an Amber Traffic Warning for today with millions of cars expected to travel on this day, causing lengthy jams at traffic hotspots.
The AA president Edmund King said: “While Friday 22 December and Saturday 23 December look set to be the busiest travelling days, the unsettled weather forecast could lead to additional delays so drivers should drive to the conditions and slow down where necessary.
Hundreds of drivers trying to catch ferries abroad in the festive getaway faced big snarl-ups at the port of Dover, some left stuck in long queues yesterday.
Port chiefs warned that only those who had booked would be able to travel, saying it was taking about 90 minutes to process cars with pre-booked tickets.
Still a 90-minute wait at Port of Dover
Drivers are still waiting in 90-minute-long queues to reach the Port of Dover.
Lydia Patrick23 December 2023 14:30
Watch - Christmas travel chaos in full swing as queues build at Port of Dover
Christmas travel chaos in full swing as queues build at Port of Dover
Lydia Patrick23 December 2023 13:45
Rail disruption between Peterborough and Stevenage
Passengers travelling on services out of London between Peterborough and Stevenage may face disruption or delays due to a tree touching overhead signalling wires.
Lydia Patrick23 December 2023 13:38
Kent residents share their annoyance
The delays are a familiar state of affairs for Dover residents.
Many have taken to Facebook to share their annoyance.
Jan Hill said:
Every year we encounter this mayhem. Why do they do this and make all the long distance drivers wait at the side of the road? Shouldn’t they prepare more ferries and run more routes to prevent this. Dover deserves so much better. The HGV drivers should be priorities. They have families they don’t see for weeks on end because they have to work. Their families and the HGV drivers deserve to be together for the holidays. We also should give them more stations to stop safely, that provide hot meals, drinks, toilet and washing facilities. They are humans and should be treated as such.
Jan Hill
Lydia Patrick23 December 2023 12:45
Where are the road delays?
Unsettled weather is likely to add to journey times on some stretches of the motorway network including the M25, the M5 between Bristol and Weston-Super-Mare and the M6 around Birmingham.
In addition, stretches of the M1 ‘smart’ motorway from Luton northwards can often suffer congestion from incidents or breakdowns, as can the M62 and M60 in the North West. Both the M4 and the A34 are also set to suffer from significant delays.
Lydia Patrick23 December 2023 12:12
Rail disruption continues
The rail disruption is set to continue on Christmas Eve as London King’s Cross will be closed due to engineering works.
The closure of London Paddington will continue until Wednesday, meaning no mainline trains will serve Heathrow Airport.
Shadow transport minister Louise Haigh said the infrastructure has been “totally underinvested in”, causing “record delays and cancellations”.
She told Times Radio on Saturday that anyone who has tried to catch a train in the last couple of years will “almost certainly” have experienced delays, cancellations and poor service because the Government has “presided over the managed decline of our railways and has been totally prepared to accept status quo”.
Ms Haigh said the Labour Party has set out plans to reform railways to bring them into public ownership and “to bring decisions around infrastructure and the operations of the railways together”.
Labour has pledged to support drivers through the cost-of-living crisis (Brian Lawless/PA Images)
(PA Archive)
Lydia Patrick23 December 2023 11:30
‘Kids are crying’ - Traveller shares her annoyance from Dover queue
Maeve Patterson who is travelling through the Port of Dover took to X to share her irritation whilst waiting in line.
Lydia Patrick23 December 2023 11:14
Dover queueing time reaches 90 minutes
People travelling over to France for Christmas can expect an even longer wait.
The Port of Dover shared on X: “There is currently a 90-minute wait time ahead of French border controls as we help passengers get away for Christmas. Please check with your chosen ferry operator for further travel updates.”
Lydia Patrick23 December 2023 11:07
Pictured: Port of Dover travel chaos
Traffic queues for ferries at the Port of Dover in Kent as people travel to their destinations for the Christmas period
(Gareth Fuller/PA Wire)
Traffic queues for ferries at the Port of Dover in Kent as people travel to their destinations for the Christmas period.
(Gareth Fuller/PA Wire)
Traffic queues for ferries at the Port of Dover in Kent as people travel to their destinations for the Christmas perio
(Gareth Fuller/PA Wire)
Lydia Patrick23 December 2023 10:29
Remnants of Storm Pia could lead to further disruption
The Met Office has warned there could be more weather-related travel issues in parts of the UK this weekend.
Christmas Eve travel plans could be ruined with heavy winds set to batter parts of the country ahead of a rain-soaked December 25.
Gusts as high as 60 to 70 mph are due to hit the north of Scotland and northern and central areas of England.
Two separate yellow wind warnings have been issued, saying people should expect travel disruption, damage to buildings and power cuts, while the rest of the country may see showers.
A yellow warning for rain covers much of Wales, with forecasters warning flooding and travel disruption is possible.
Weather warnings in place for Saturday 23
(The Met Office)
Lydia Patrick23 December 2023 10:15
