{"id":5771,"date":"2018-12-24T14:37:18","date_gmt":"2018-12-24T14:37:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/christmas-traffic-so-far-so-good-for-christmas-eve-getaway\/"},"modified":"2018-12-24T14:37:18","modified_gmt":"2018-12-24T14:37:18","slug":"christmas-traffic-so-far-so-good-for-christmas-eve-getaway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/christmas-traffic-so-far-so-good-for-christmas-eve-getaway\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas traffic: ‘So far, so good’ for Christmas Eve getaway"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Traffic building on the M25 in Kent on “frantic Friday” – ahead of more busy roads on Christmas Eve
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Drivers setting out on Christmas Eve are being warned they could face severe delays, but it’s a case of “so far, so good” according to the RAC.<\/p>\n

The organisation expected roads to be busiest between 11:00 and 13:00 GMT, but there haven’t been any major problems so far.<\/p>\n

The AA, though, predicted a later peak between 14:00 and 16:00.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, many rail passengers across the country are facing disruption because of planned engineering work.<\/p>\n

Network Rail said vital upgrades would be carried out over the festive period. <\/p>\n

Despite fewer commuters travelling on Christmas Eve after booking the day off work, there will be far more leisure journeys – as many as 2.5 million in total – taken on Monday. <\/p>\n

The AA say half of all motorists are expected to take to the UK’s main roads.<\/p>\n

According to the AA’s live traffic reports<\/a>, vehicle accidents and a burst water main have caused problems for people trying to leave central London by car.<\/p>\n

The RAC and Inrix,<\/a> which provides traffic information, believe the stretch of the M1 northbound between junction 21 (Coventry\/Leicester) and junction 26 (Nottingham\/Ripley) will be the worst for delays. <\/p>\n

The M25, M5, M6 and M40 are also likely to see significant delays. <\/p>\n

The RAC says the number of leisure journeys over the festive season is likely to peak on Boxing Day with an estimated 6.8 million individual trips.<\/p>\n

Pete Williams, the organisation’s breakdown spokesman, told the BBC News Channel that parts of London, and the M25 in particular, were “incredibly busy”.<\/p>\n

“Up in the north, in Leeds and Bradford, the temperature has actually plummeted and we’re seeing high volumes of traffic and quite a few people running into trouble.”<\/p>\n

Mr Williams advised travellers to check their oil, coolant level, tyre pressure and tread depth, and to buy some good screen wash before setting off.<\/p>\n

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Media caption<\/span>How do you avoid holiday traffic jams?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the trains, there are 330 sets of rail engineering works scheduled to take place between now and 1 January.<\/p>\n

Network Rail said it would do most of the works when no trains are scheduled to run.<\/p>\n

No trains run on Christmas Day and there are only a limited number of services on Boxing Day – but nationwide bus companies National Express and Megabus will operate.<\/p>\n

The rail disruption includes:<\/p>\n