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Driving home for Christmas may become a traffic nightmare as rail strikes push more people onto the roads just as National Highways workers and control centre staff walk out, the AA has warned.
The motorists’ organisation has issued an amber traffic warning for Friday and Christmas Eve, and experts are urging drivers to set their Christmas travel plans in motion “as soon as possible”.
A four-day strike by National Highways workers from today until Christmas Day coincides with fresh rail walkouts that threaten travel mayhem over the festive period.
Members of the biggest civil service union the Public and Commercial Services union who are on-road traffic officers and operating centre staff in London and southeast England will walk out.
Industrial action on Britain’s rail network means some services stopping early before national strikes from Saturday, Christmas Eve.
As workers prepared to walk out, the government announced regulated rail fares will rise by up to 5.9% next year.
The Independent’s Simon Calder urged drivers to hit the roads as “soon as you possibly can”, saying: “I’ve never known a Christmas quite like this for travel stress.”
