Roads and railways set for bank holiday delays

Travellers face the prospect of busy roads and severely disrupted train journeys this bank holiday weekend.

Buses will replace trains on a number of lines, including a section of the West Coast Main Line, while the AA said road journey times on Friday could increase by up to 50 per cent.

The worst day on the railways is likely to be Sunday when there are 38 engineering work projects taking place.

Other companies affected over the weekend are South West Trains, Arriva Trains Wales, First Capital Connect, Northern Rail and the Southern train company.

The RAC said the busiest routes were likely to be around London and Birmingham as well as routes to the Lake District and coastal resorts. It is paying for 3,000 motorists to go on the M6 toll road near Birmingham at the weekend.

A poll by esure car insurance showed 54 per cent of people planned to travel over the weekend, with 25 per cent of drivers in south-east England aiming to drive at night to beat the jams.

The firm also said as many as 8.6 million motorists faced delays of more than 50 minutes on average.