Everything you need to know about state of roads, rail and underground ahead of Easter weekend
6 April 2023, 12:45 | Updated: 6 April 2023, 12:49
Easter is a great time for families to get away, either at home or abroad - here's the state of the roads, rail, underground and more ahead of the bank holiday weekend.
Easter 2023 has arrived and the four-day bank holiday weekend will not only mean millions of people get an extra few days off work, but also some sunny weather.
With that in mind - and the recent chaos at the Port of Dover, strikes and engineering works - it is best to plan your journey ahead before travelling.
Are there any train strikes this weekend?
RMT members at Network Rail have accepted a pay offer, ending their strikes, and members at the Rail Delivery Group are considering an offer.
Though there won't be any strikes this weekend, passengers have still been warned to expect heavy disruption across the UK's rail network.
Read More: Two strike dates suspended by RMT as Rail Delivery Group talks continue
Southern services running through London Victoria will be unable to run across Easter weekend, Network Rail has said, due to planned engineering works. Trains may be diverted to London Bridge instead.
Meanwhile, no trains will run to or from London Euston at Easter, also due to planned engineering works.
The West Coast Main Line will be closed up to Milton Keynes Central.
Lines between Tunbridge Wells and Hastings will also be closed across the weekend, and and afterwards until Sunday April 16.
As for specific rail services, here's how they will be affected:
Avanti West Coast
Due to engineering work between London Euston and Milton Keynes Central, trains will be unable to run between these stations.
Journeys between Carlisle and Glasgow Central / Edinburgh will also be disrupted.
c2c
A reduced service will be in place due to the Good Friday bank holiday, but there are no planned changed for Saturday April 8.
Due to engineering work between Pitsea and Upminster via Grays, buses will replace trains between Grays and Upminster via Purfleet and Rainham, and Pitsea and Chafford Hundred via Grays on Sunday April 9 and Easter Monday.
Caledonian Sleeper
Due to engineering work closing parts of the West Coast Main Line between Scotland and London Euston, services will be retimed and diverted. On Saturday, there will no overnight service.
Chiltern Railways
Due to engineering work between Beaconsfield and Aylesbury Vale Parkway, buses will replace trains between these stations across all four days.
CrossCountry
Expect a normal service, subject to engineering work between Ely and Cambridge, Reading and Basingstoke, Crewe and Stafford, and Leeds and York.
East Midlands Railway
On Friday, the 05:22 Derby to Nottingham service is cancelled.
Due to engineering work between Stockport and Sheffield, buses will replace trains between these stations.
Meanwhile, due to engineering work in the Ely area, buses will replace trains between Peterborough and Norwich - also on Saturday and Sunday.
Grand Central
No planned changes.
Great Northern
On Friday through to Sunday, buses will replace trains between Ely and Cambridge due to engineering work.
Greater Anglia
Due to engineering work between Bury St Edmunds and Cambridge, buses will replace trains between these stations.
Due to engineering work between Ely and Cambridge, buses will replace trains between these stations.
There are more alterations here.
Great Western Railway
Expect changes to services operating between Reading, Newbury and Bedwyn due to engineering work.
LNER
Due to engineering work in the Leeds area, the 08:30 Leeds to Edinburgh service will be amended to start from York at 09:00.
This is the only planned alternation all weekend.
Merseyrail
Services will run as planned.
Northern
Services will run as planned, subject to engineering work.
ScotRail
Services will run as planned, subject to engineering work.
South Western Railway
All weekend, expect a revised service between London Waterloo and Portsmouth, Exeter, Weymouth and Alton. In addition, buses will replace trains between:
- Woking and Basingstoke
- Woking and Andover
- Woking and Winchester
More planned engineering works are set to take place on Sunday.
Southeastern
On Friday, buses will replace trains between Tunbridge Wells and Hastings due to engineering works.
On Saturday 8 April, no trains will run to or from via London Charing Cross and Waterloo East.
Southern
There will be no services all weekend from London Victoria.
Transport for Wales
Bus services will replace trains between Cardiff Central and Pontypridd on Saturday and Sunday.
Services between Chester and Manchester Piccadilly will also be affected sporadically across the weekend.
West Midlands Railway
Due to engineering work between Lichfield Trent Valley and Birmingham New Street, buses will replace trains between these stations all weekend.
Will the London Underground be running?
As with the trains, there are no planned London Underground strikes this weekend, but Transport for London (TfL) has made some changes to its timetable.
Here's how TfL services will be affected, including the Overground and Elizabeth line.
Jubilee line
There will be no service on the entire line until 2pm on Friday April 7.
After 2pm on Friday and all weekend, there will be no service between West Hampstead and Stanmore, including Friday and Saturday night tube services.
Metropolitan line
There will be no service between Aldgate and Harrow-on-the-Hill between Friday and Monday.
Elizabeth line
There will be no service between Paddington and Abbey Wood between Friday and Monday, and a reduced service between Paddington and Maidenhead.
DLR
There will be no direct services between Bank and Lewisham.
London Trams
From Friday until April 15, there will be no westbound service from East Croydon to Wandle Park, nor from Reeves Corner to East Croydon.
London Overground
On Friday and Saturday, there will be no service between Kilburn High Road and Euston
On Sunday, there will be no service between Camden Road and Stratford after 10.15pm, and no service between Gospel Oak and Barking Riverside.
On Sunday and Monday, there will be no service between Watford Junction and London Euston, and no service between Woodgrange Park and Barking Riverside on Monday.
How busy will the roads be?
Heavy traffic leading up to the Port of Dover, as well as delays as French border control, caused chaos last weekend, as families went away for the first part of their Easter break.
The Port of Dover said that they would be conducting a "full review" of plans to improve their approach ahead of the Bank Holiday.
But No10 warned travellers hoping to get away during the extra busy period that they should remain prepared for more delays on the way.
According to the RAC, around 17 million leisure trips will predicted to be made over the weekend.
Major roads in south west England and counties surrounding London will experience the worst congestion.
More than double the amount of traffic is expected on the A303 westbound near Stonehenge in Wiltshire, the M5 south between Bristol and Bridgwater and M25 anti-clockwise between Hertfordshire and Surrey.
RAC spokesman Rod Dennis said: "The south and west of England are the areas to watch as they're home to some vital roads responsible for carrying vast numbers of people to the holiday destinations of the West Country.
"Traffic volumes could be even higher if the sun chooses to make a welcome appearance.
"Our advice to anyone heading that way is to get on the road as early as possible on Good Friday or travel on a different day entirely."
