Christmas travel: UK travellers hit by delays on roads and trains

Half of all UK drivers took to the roads on Christmas Eve to visit friends and family

Victoria coach station shows Christmas Eve queues for 2018 festive season

Travellers making last-minute journeys home for Christmas had to contend with busy roads and reduced train services on Christmas Eve.

Half of UK motorists took to the roads on the day before Christmas, according to the AA, with one in five making festive journeys to see friends and family.

There is a reduced service on most train lines across the country, alongside closures at key stations for engineering works. Disruption on some train networks is expected to last until the start of January.

[24 December 2018 15:35 · helen.coffey]

Workers on London Northwestern Railway decided to add a little Christmas cheer to trains departing from London Euston today.

Spotted: one train with the name "Polar Express" and the destination listed as "Lapland".

[24 December 2018 15:57 · Cathy Adams]

Following an earlier collision between junctions 19 and 20 on the M25 clockwise near Leavesden, all lanes are now open for traffic.

The delays should now start to ease, says Highways England.