There are severe delays for travellers at Dover trying to sail to mainland Europe on their Easter holiday breaks.
Millions of people are set to face disruption to their travel plans this weekend due to major rail engineering works, strike action, heavy traffic and possible flooding.
The Port of Dover said it was taking up to 90 minutes for departing passengers to pass through border checks.
More than 300 engineering projects will be carried out by Network Rail across Britain between Good Friday and Easter Monday, prompting warnings for passengers to check their journeys in advance.
The worst-affected routes include those serving London Euston, where no trains will run to or from Milton Keynes on Saturday and Sunday due to work to renew overhead electric lines and improve drainage.
A reduced timetable will operate on Good Friday and Monday, and services on the West Coast Main Line will begin and end at Carlisle from Saturday to Monday, with replacement buses covering northern stations.
Platforms 1 to 8 at London Victoria will be shut throughout the bank holiday, with Southeastern trains diverted to London Bridge or London Cannon Street.
Routes around Southampton and Brockenhurst will also be hit by closures.
Eurostar trains hit by delays after fire at Ebbsfleet International
21:24 , Anthony FranceSeveral Eurostar trains between London, Paris and Brussels have been hit by delays ahead of the Easter weekend.
At least one train has been cancelled and four others delayed by at least an hour.
A message on the Eurostar website says it is “currently experiencing delays on our routes due to technical and operational incidents”.
‼️The fire brigade have put out a fire under a bridge near #ebbsfleetinternational
— Network Rail Kent & Sussex (@NetworkRailSE) April 18, 2025
⚠️Services between Ebbsfleet and Ashford are impacted with replacement buses in operation
ℹ️We’re sorry for any inconvenience to your journey, for the latest travel advice visit @Se_Railway pic.twitter.com/TXAq5jOAXu
The delays have been caused by a fire near the tracks underneath a bridge at Ebbsfleet International, according to a post on X by Network Rail Kent and Sussex.
It said services had been impacted and replacement buses were now in operation.
Chaos as train line blocked on Willesden to Clapham line at Shepherd's Bush
15:36 , Anthony FranceA fault with the signalling system at Shepherd's Bush means that the line between Willesden Junction and Clapham Junction is blocked.
Trains running through this station may be cancelled or diverted to or from Richmond.
National Rail said disruption is expected until at least 5pm.
Richmond services will run as normal to Stratford.
Missing child found wandering on M25
14:31 , Bill Bowkett
A boy was found wandering on the M25 just metres from moving cars after he was reported missing.
Emergency services were called just after midday on April 7 to reports of the child walking on the hard shoulder near Brasted, Kent.
Bad weather affecting ferries
14:30 , Bill Bowkett
Ferries across the UK have been cancelled today due to bad weather.
All sailings have been postponed on the St Mawes Passenger Ferry between St Mawes and Falmouth because of poor conditions.
Meanwhile, Hebrides, Firth of Clyde and Skye Raasay sailings are experiencing disruption or cancellations on Calmac services.
Buses running instead of trains on London Northwestern
13:59 , Bill Bowkett
Buses have replaced London Northwestern rail services between Watford Junction and St Albans Abbey due to overhead line problems.
Normal service resumes on Piccadilly Line
13:56 , Bill BowkettNormal service has resumed on the Piccadilly Line of the London Underground between Acton Town and Heathrow Terminals 1,2,3 following earlier signalling problems at Northfields.
M3 queues form from holiday traffic
13:43 , Bill BowkettQueues have formed on the M3 Southbound at Junction 3 A322 (Lightwater/Bagshot) due to holiday traffic.
Piccadilly Line plagued by delays
13:26 , Bill BowkettThere are minor delays on the Piccadilly Line of the London Underground between Acton Town and Heathrow Terminals 1,2,3 due to signalling problems at Northfields.
Dartford hit with disruption
13:15 , Bill BowkettLong delays on the M25 anticlockwise at Junction 1A A206 (Dartford Tunnel) due to an accident.
Congestion to just after Junction 3 M20 (Swanley Interchange).
There is also disruption on the hard shoulder on M25 clockwise before the QE2 Bridge.
Congestion to Junction 29 A127 (Romford).
Manchester-Crewe delays due to broken train
12:10 , Bill Bowkett
There are delays of up to 15 minutes and some cancellations on Northern, Avanti West Coast and Transport for Wales services between Manchester Piccadilly and Crewe due to a broken train.
Lane closed on M23
12:04 , Bill BowkettOne lane is closed on the M23 Southbound from Junction 8 M25 Junction 7 to Junction 9 (Gatwick Airport) due to debris on road.
Which airlines are affected by Gatwick strikes?
11:55 , Bill Bowkett
More than 100 members of staff at London’s Gatwick Airport who work for ground handling firm Red Handling UK are striking over pay and pensions this Easter weekend.
Airlines that have been affected by the walkout organised by the Unite trade union are:
• Air Mauritius
• Air Peace
• Delta
• Ethiopian Airlines
• Norwegian
• TAP
M1 held after four-vehicle collision
11:46 , Bill BowkettAll traffic on the M1 Northbound before Junction 9 A5183 (Redbourn) is being temporarily held due to an earlier four-car accident.
Congestion has spread to Junction 6 of the M25, and onlookers opposite back to Junction 11 Luton/Dunstable.
Traffic is expected to return to normal before 1pm.
95% of rail network 'open for business'
11:34 , Bill Bowkett
Kevin Groves, Network Rail's head of media, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “(The) good news for passengers travelling today is that the vast majority of the rail network — well over 95 per cent — is actually open for business as usual."
Long delays following four-vehicle M1 crash
11:25 , Bill BowkettDrivers are now experiencing long delays after two lanes on the M1 Northbound before Junction 9 A5183 (Redbourn) were closed following a four-car accident.
There is congestion at Junction 8 (Hemel Hempstead) and onlookers opposite back to Junction 10 (Luton Airport).
M25 lane closed
11:17 , Bill BowkettOne lane has been closed on the M25 clockwise from Junction 10 A3 (Wisley Interchange) to Junction 11 A320 St Peters Way (Chertsey) due to an accident.
Sunny weather could spark “big jams”, RAC warn
11:11 , Bill Bowkett
An estimated 74 million journeys are scheduled to go ahead over the Easter weekend.
But the RAC said more trips could be made depending on the weather.
Breakdown spokesperson Alice Simpson said more than 6 million people are “undecided” on when they will travel for an Easter leisure trip.
She claims that “any sign of sun” could spark “big jams”.
The Met Office forecasts for Good Friday: “Rain already across the south and west will spread slowly north and eastwards during the day, however much of eastern England and Scotland will remain dry with some bright or sunny intervals. Feeling warm in the sunnier east.”
Up to 50 flights affected by Gatwick walkouts
10:57 , Bill Bowkett
As we reported earlier, around 100 workers at London’s Gatwick Airport are striking over pay and pensions this Easter weekend.
Analysts say the industrial action by members of the United union could affect about 50 flights a day.
But Nick Williams, head of passenger operations at Gatwick, said: "It's a very small number of airlines who don't operate a huge number of flights, so we're not talking about big-scale impact.
"We're working really closely with those airlines to try and mitigate that impact and hope that as many of those flights operate as close to schedule as possible.”
Traffic eases on M25
10:50 , Bill BowkettTraffic has eased on the M25 anticlockwise near Clacket Lane Services after an earlier broken down car.
Slow traffic on M1
10:40 , Bill BowkettThere is slow-moving traffic on the M1 Southbound after Junction 13 A421 (Bedford/Milton Keynes South) due to an accident earlier this morning.
Four-vehicle crash on M1
10:29 , Bill BowkettTwo lanes are closed on the M1 Northbound before Junction 9 A5183 (Redbourn) due to a crash involving four vehicles.
Congestion to Junction 8 (Hemel Hempstead).
Network Rail: Plan journey in advance
10:24 , Bill BowkettHelen Hamlin, Network Rail’s director of system operations, said: “The vast majority of the rail network will be open as usual for people wanting to travel over the Easter bank holiday, but there will be changes to services in some areas so we’re asking passengers to plan ahead and check before they travel.”
Foreign Office issues warning for Brits travelling to Tenerife
10:15 , Bill Bowkett
A warning has been issued by the Foreign Office for British holidaymakers hoping to travel to the Canary Islands during the Easter break.
The Comisiones Obreras union said around 80,000 hospitality workers in Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro will walkout today in a row over pay and conditions.
The FCDO said: "Industrial action is planned in the hospitality sector in Tenerife over the Easter bank holiday weekend. If you're due to travel to Tenerife this weekend, check your operator's advice and follow the advice of authorities."
M25 traffic easing
09:53 , Bill BowkettTraffic is now easing on the M25 anticlockwise after Junction 9 A243 (Leatherhead) following an earlier accident.
Meanwhile, all lanes on the M4 London bound at Membury Services have reopened.
Two lanes closed on M1
09:45 , Bill BowkettTwo lanes are closed on the M1 Southbound after Junction 13 A421 (Bedford/Milton Keynes South) due to accident.
Flood alerts in South
09:39 , Bill Bowkett
Seven flood alerts are in place across the South of England, which could cause travel disruption.
Amber flood alerts are in the following areas:
• Borehole at River Hill, near Flamstead, Hertfordshire
• Kimpton and Lilley Bottom, Hertfordshire
• The Candovers and Old Alresford, Hampshire
• Great Shefford in Berkshire, and Henley and Assendon in Oxfordshire
• West Ilsley and East Ilsley, Compton and West Hagbourne in Berkshire, and Chilton in Oxfordshire
• River Mimram, Hertfordshire
It comes after the Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for tourist hotspots in the southwest of England, including Cornwall and Devon.
90-minute wait for P&O Ferries
09:30 , Bill Bowkett
It is now taking up 90 minutes for P&O Ferries passengers to pass through border checks at Dover.
The Port of Dover said: “P&O traffic is causing extended processing times at Border Control.”
The wait for DFDS Ferries and Irish Ferries check-in is 60 minutes.
Gatwick set to be disrupted by strikes
09:20 , Bill Bowkett
London Gatwick Airport, Britain’s second busiest after Heathrow, is set to be affected by strike action during the Easter weekend.
More than 100 baggage handlers and flight dispatchers from the Unite union will walk out, starting today until Tuesday, in protest over pension disputes and payment delays.
Flight delays, short-notice cancellations and check-in queues are likely.
More than 11,000 flights are scheduled to leave UK airports over the four-day period, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
PM lifts thousand miles of road works
09:08 , Bill BowkettSir Keir Starmer has lifted more than a thousand miles of road works this Easter weekend in a bid to make “journey’s smoother”.
No one wants to spend their Easter weekend stuck in traffic.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) April 16, 2025
So we're lifting more than a thousand miles of roadworks over Easter.
And to save you money, we've frozen fuel duty and delivered record funding to fix potholes.
Drivers — I'm on your side.
Lane closed on M4 London bound
08:56 , Bill BowkettOne lane is closed due to accident on the M4 London bound at Membury Services. The area is expected to clear at around 12:30pm.
M25 traffic held
08:49 , Bill BowkettAll traffic is being temporarily held on the M25 anticlockwise at Clacket Lane Services due to broken down car.
Two lanes have also closed on M25 anticlockwise from Junction 9 A243 (Leatherhead) to Junction 8 A217 Brighton Road (Reigate).
Dover crossing waits of 50 minutes
08:39 , Bill Bowkett
Travellers looking to cross the Channel at the Port of Dover are facing waits of 50 minutes to be processed at border controls.
These include those looking to sail to France on DFDS Seaways, P&O Ferries and Irish Ferries services.
More than 12,000 cars and 450 coaches are expected to travel through the port between Good Friday and Easter Monday.
Delays ease on West Coast Main Line
08:29 , Bill Bowkett
Delays have eased on West Midlands Railway, Avanti West Coast and Transport for Wales services travelling on the Stour Valley Line, part of the West Coast Main Line, between Birmingham New Street and Wolverhampton following an earlier trespass incident.
Strikes impacting Kings Cross services
08:19 , Bill Bowkett
Drivers at Hull Trains are striking today in a long-running dispute over the sacking of a colleague.
Members of the Aslef union says the driver was unfairly dismissed after raising a safety issue at a meeting, which the company disputes.
There is a reduced service on Hull Trains at London’s Kings Cross station due to the industrial action, affecting services across the network.
But the company said 80 per cent of timetabled services are scheduled to run as normal.
Partial Tram closure
08:10 , Bill Bowkett
There is no Tramlink service today between Sandilands and New Addington.
Piccadilly Line updates
07:59 , Bill Bowkett
There is no service on the Piccadilly Line of the London Underground between Acton Town and Uxbridge due to engineering works.
However, Arsenal station has re-opened following an earlier staff shortage.
Holland Park station reopens
07:49 , Bill Bowkett
Holland Park station on Central Line of the London Underground has re-opened following an earlier staff shortage.
Bakerloo Line 'minor' delays
07:40 , Bill Bowkett
There are currently minor delays on Bakerloo Line due to train cancellations.
Waterloo and City shut
07:30 , Bill Bowkett
The Waterloo and City Line on the London Underground is closed throughout the Easter weekend.
Windrush replacement buses
07:19 , Bill Bowkett
There will be no Windrush Line trains today between Surrey Quays and Clapham Junction/Battersea Park. Replacement buses will be in operation.
DLR disruption
07:11 , Bill Bowkett
There is no service on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) between Tower Gateway and Shadwell, between Westferry and Canning Town, between Westferry and West India Quay and between West India Quay and Stratford International due to engineering works.
Elizabeth Line closures
07:02 , Bill Bowkett
Elizabeth Line trains are not stopping at Acton Main Line, West Ealing and Hanwell due to planned engineering works
There is also a reduced service between London Paddington and Maidenhead, and between London Paddington and Heathrow Terminal 4.
Holland Park station closed
06:57 , Bill BowkettHolland Park station on the Central Line of the London Underground is closed due to staff shortages.
