Bank holiday traffic: More than 14 million car journeys set to take place over the weekend

More than 14 million bank holiday car journeys are expected to take place over the August bank holiday weekend. Motorists are being warned about long delays on major routes across the UK as a result.

Inrix, the transport analysis company, has confirmed what the most congested motorway stretches are likely to be on Friday (August 25). This includes the M1 northbound between junctions 12 and 16, the M25 clockwise between junctions four and one and the M4 eastbound from junctions 29 to 24.

The RAC commissioned a survey that suggested around 14.4million leisure car trips are planned between Friday (August 25) and Monday (August 28). This is the last bank holiday in England, Wales and Northern Ireland until Christmas Day.

Around 1.8million more car journey's are expected compared to last year's August bank holiday weekend. Fuel prices are not as high as record levels seen in 2022 but are still more expensive than previous years, the RAC said.

Train strikes on Saturday (August 26) will put further pressure on the roads. This is due to thousands of Rail, Maritime and Transport union members at 14 train operators striking as part of a long-standing dispute over pay and conditions.

Drivers are being advised by Inrix to avoid major roads between 10am and 7pm on Friday, between 10am and 3pm on Saturday and Sunday, and between 10am and 4pm on Monday. RAC spokesman Simon Williams said: “With fuel prices much lower than last summer’s record highs, it’s clear from our research that many more drivers are planning to make the most of what the UK has to offer over the last bank holiday of the summer.

“And if the weather is kind, even more people may decide to take trips, swelling numbers on the road further still and possibly adding to the inevitable delays. Those looking to have uninterrupted journeys should aim to travel very early to beat the jams, or if that’s not possible, much later in the day if they’re planning to be travelling on Friday.

“With breakdown numbers already well exceeding previous years, we’re urging drivers to do all they can to avoid finding themselves broken down at the side of the road by carrying out a few essential vehicle checks before setting off.”

Inrix analyst Bob Pishue said: “We expect this bank holiday weekend to be very busy on major roads, with Friday and Saturday seeing the longest delays compared to normal.

“While the most significant delays over the three days are going to be on the M25 and M1, routes to the West will inevitably be badly affected too.”

Nearly 1,000 miles of roadworks will be lifted ahead of the bank holiday weekend to ease journeys, National Highways has said. Train services will also be affected by Network Rail carrying out around 500 projects across Britain’s railways over the long weekend in addition to strike action.

London Euston is the busiest station affected. Services will be limited from 8pm on Saturday until Tuesday due to track renewals and signalling upgrades.

On Saturday and Sunday, no trains will serve London Charing Cross or Waterloo East. From late Saturday until the early hours of Monday, buses and coaches will replace trains on the East Coast Main Line between Grantham, Royston and Potters Bar/Hereford North.

Jake Kelly, Network Rail’s system operator director, said: “As always, we’ve carefully planned our engineering work to ensure the vast majority of the railway will be open for business as usual this bank holiday, so passengers can rely on the railway to get them where they need to be as they make the most of the long weekend.

“Disruptions to journeys on some routes is unavoidable when carrying out certain pieces of work however, so please make sure to check with National Rail Enquiries or your train operator before you travel.”

The RAC commissioned research agency Find Out Now to carry out the survey on August 16 and 17.