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UK in grip of travel misery: motorways closes, rail delayed, Port of Dover with 90 minute wait and Eurostar backlogged

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A deal between London St Pancras High Speed and Eurotunnel will "lay the foundations for increased cross-Channel rail traffic."
A deal between London St Pancras High Speed and Eurotunnel will "lay the foundations for increased cross-Channel rail traffic."

Christmas getaway disruption is continuing with long queues for cross-Channel journeys, motorway closures and train cancellations.

The Port of Dover in Kent said it is taking about 90 minutes to process cars with pre-booked tickets.

It attributed the delay to a surge in demand for ferries after the Channel Tunnel rail link was closed on Thursday due to unscheduled industrial action by French workers, which ruined the travel plans of tens of thousands of people.

Eurostar, which operates passenger services to and from London St Pancras, said it will operate two extra services per day between London and Paris up to and including Christmas Eve to help people whose trains were cancelled on Thursday.

Vehicle-carrying train service Eurotunnel said it is running its usual timetable but is only accepting customers who have pre-booked.

The M20 motorway in Kent remains closed in the coastbound direction between junctions 8 and 9 due to Operation Brock, which involves organising a queue for freight traffic during disruption to cross-Channel services.

National Highways said this is causing 45-minute delays.

The M62 motorway has been closed since about 11pm on Thursday between junctions 21 (near Rochdale, Greater Manchester) and 22 (near Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire) due to a police investigation following a crash in which a 19-year-old, male car passenger was killed.

This is causing long delays to journeys.

Passengers at St Pancras International station, London, as Christmas getaway chaos is expected to continue as the backlog from the suspension of cross-Channel rail services begins to clear and the weather remains unsettled
Passengers at St Pancras International station, London, as Christmas getaway chaos is expected to continue as the backlog from the suspension of cross-Channel rail services begins to clear and the weather remains unsettled (Lucy North/PA Wire)

Greater Manchester Police said it arrested the 19-year-old driver of the car – which crossed from the westbound carriage onto the eastbound section – on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

On the domestic railway, disruption from strong winds remains following chaos caused by Storm Pia on Thursday.

No LNER trains are serving Inverness on Friday morning.

ScotRail services remain suspended between Inverness and Wick, Tain, Ardgay and Lairg.

Meanwhile, Southeastern said it was forced to cancel a number of trains due to “a shortage of available train crew”.

There will be no service on the Sheerness line after 10am for the rest of the day, and there are cancellations on the high speed line to and from London St Pancras throughout the day.

The RAC estimated 13.5 million leisure journeys by car would take place across the UK between Friday and Sunday, up 20% on the three days before Christmas Day last year.

Road congestion is likely to peak on Friday as drivers embarking on leisure trips competed for road space with commuters and business traffic.

Motorists were advised to travel before 11am or after 6pm if possible to reduce the chance of being stuck in long queues.

Likely traffic hotspots on the M25 identified by transport analysis company Inrix include: clockwise between junction 7 (for the M23/Gatwick Airport) and junction 16 (for the M40/Birmingham); and anti-clockwise between junction 17 (Rickmansworth) and junction 12 (for the M3).

Other motorway stretches expected to see long queues included the M1 north from Woburn, Bedfordshire, to Daventry, Northamptonshire, and the M6 south from Wigan, Greater Manchester, to Stafford, Staffordshire.

Press Association – Neil Lancefield