Travel chaos expected over bank holiday

Travellers face road and rail chaos this bank holiday weekend with major highways expected to be packed and many trains being replaced by buses.

The RAC predicted that the many music festivals, including one at Reading in Berkshire, would add to the jams on the roads.

The AA said the bank holiday could see some of the busiest traffic of the year, with people in Yorkshire and Humberside the most likely to get the car out.

The Highways Agency, which is responsible for England's motorways and major trunk roads, said it had completed 22 sets of roadworks ahead of the bank holiday and it was suspending 31 other sets.

Roadworks remain in place on a number of busy routes, including the northern part of the M25, sections of the M4 and the A46 in the West Midlands.

The Liberal Democrats said buses would replace trains on more than 1,000 miles of rail routes over the bank holiday.

On Sunday, there are 42 different sets of engineering work going on on the railways, including work on the London to Scotland West Coast line.

Liberal Democrat transport spokesman Norman Baker said: "Spending hours in a hot bus is not the way most of us want to spend our bank holiday but with miles of rail replacement buses planned yet again, it's going to be hard to avoid.

"Passengers who have paid for a rail journey have the right to expect to travel by train. Train companies that force passengers to travel part of the journey by bus should give them a substantial rebate on the cost of their ticket."

The RAC said it expected Friday evening to be the busiest period on the roads. As well as the Reading festival, there are music festivals at Leeds, Glasgow, Daresbury in Cheshire and Cumbria.

The Notting Hill Carnival takes place in west London and the Rugby League Challenge Cup Final is being played at Wembley on Saturday.

The RAC said that traffic hotspots are likely to include the M6 in the Lake District, the M55 towards Blackpool, the M5 southbound through the West Country and A303 around Stonehenge in Wiltshire.

The AA said 23 per cent of people in Yorkshire and Humberside were likely to be taking to the roads this bank holiday, with those in Wales and north west England likely to be travelling the least.

Of those planning a trip, around 32 per cent say they will, or may, go to the seaside, the AA said.

According to a survey by Total, 95 per cent of Britons are choosing to spend the bank holiday in the UK, with 29 per cent of trips likely to be to visit family and friends.

Research on behalf of financial advice company Moneybasics.co.uk showed that around 4 per cent of Britons had booked a last-minute holiday abroad before the schools returned.

For those choosing to stay at home, the weather looks mixed at best.

According to MeteoGroup, the Press Association's weather forecasting company, Britain will be mainly cloudy and showery tomorrow with possibly persistent rain in part in the afternoon.

It is expected to be unsettled and windy on Friday with showers and more persistent rain, especially in northern and western areas.

These western areas are likely to get the worst of the showers on Saturday, with others areas having sunny spells and scattered showers.

A survey by car insurance company esure showed that 54 per cent of car travellers were likely to be held up by traffic jams this weekend.

As many as 18 per cent of those polled said they planned to travel at night to avoid the bottlenecks.

More than three in four (76 per cent) said they reckoned road congestion was worsening, especially at bank holidays.

Meanwhile, travel organisation Abta and the Federation of Tour Operators have launched an online "green" travel service - the Travelife Sustainability System.

Travellers can see how hotels and resorts are rated for their commitment to sustaining their local environment.

The number of people going on cross-Channel sailings with P&O Ferries is up on last year despite it being the year of the "staycation", the company said.

Sales and marketing director Simon Johnson said: "We'll be a few per cent up on the number of passengers, cars and coaches carried over the bank holiday.

"Our services from Dover alone will carry close to 140,000 passengers over the weekend."

Mr Johnson explained that the trend all year has been for an unusually high proportion of late bookings.

He said: "As the peak season draws to a close we can be confident that we'll finish this year slightly ahead. That's a considerable achievement in the so-called year of the staycation.

P&O Ferries said a late surge meant bookings were up compared with the 2008 August bank holiday.

The company will be carrying close to 140,000 passengers from Dover alone and said it expected to finish this year "slightly ahead" of 2008.

Channel Tunnel high-speed rail company Eurostar, which runs services from London to Paris and Brussels, will be carrying more than 140,000 travellers over the weekend.

One of them will be the lucky 100 millionth Eurostar passenger who will travel on the 9am London-Paris services on Friday.

The 100 millionth traveller will win unlimited personal Eurostar travel for a year, while other passengers on the 9am train will receive gifts.

"We've been highlighting the affordability of ferry fares for self-drive family holidays compared to the cost of flying and the message has clearly got through."

VisitEngland said that 29 per cent of Britons would be taking a trip of one night or more over the bank holiday, with four in five of those taking a break doing so in the UK.

VisitEngland chief executive James Berresford said: "All of our research so far this year and anecdotal evidence from the industry confirm that Britons are indeed rediscovering the joys of holidaying at home in 2009.

"We are confident that once people are reminded of what England has to offer ... they will realise England has got everything that overseas breaks can offer and more."