Travel news live: Traffic chaos hits Christmas getaway weekend amid weather warnings

The Met Office says that strong winds may bring disruption to Christmas travel over the weekend.

A cold snap will also see some snow in places on Sunday.

See where the weather will hit below:

A shortage of station staff at Beckenham Junction means that this station will no longer run Southern trains after 2.50pm today.

Southern services that usually run to Beckenham Junction will terminate at Birkbeck instead, and services that usually start from Beckenham Junction will start at Birkbeck instead.

Beckenham Junction will not be served by Southern and disruptions are expected until the end of the day.

It appears that Southeastern is still operating trains at Beckenham Junction, but the ticket office will be closed until the end of the day.

If you are travelling to/from Beckenham Junction, you can change at Birkbeck and use London Trams to complete your journey instead, Southern recommends.

A fault with the signalling system at Southampton Central means that fewer trains are able to run on some lines, National Rail said at 1.30pm.

Trains running to and from this station may be delayed, or terminated at and started back from Portsmouth & Southsea and disruption is expected until the end of the day.

The RAC says that the worst time to travel for getaway journeys will be between 2pm and 7pm today, Friday, 20 December, but the best time will be after 7pm, when traffic caused by leisure car trips ease.

The worst time to travel on Saturday will be between 1pm and 6pm, with the RAC advising to travel before 1pm that day, while Sunday’s traffic will be worse between 8am and 11am.

On 23 December and Christmas Eve, the worst time to travel will be the same between 10am and 4pm, with Christmas Eve predicted to be the busiest single day for getaway trips, such as those driving to see family and friends, in the last final flurry before Christmas Day.

The M5 J27 southbound access near Halberton/Culmstock is experiencing lane closures due to a broken down vehicle, as of 2.20pm.

The M4 J19 eastbound access near Bristol currently has all lanes closed due to an accident.

The M55 J1 eastbound access near Preston also closed one of its two lanes due to an accident.

One lane is still closed due to a vehicle fire on the M5 southbound between J30 (Exeter / Topsham) and J31 (Matford / Exminster) that occurred earlier in the day.

The M48 Severn Bridge will closed as of 6am on Saturday, 21 December due to forecast strong winds, National Highways has announced.

The road authority said they will monitor the wind speeds and will re-open the bridge when it is safe to do so, however, strong winds are forecast throughout most of Saturday and into Sunday.

There are currently no plans in place to close the M4 Prince of Wales.

When there are expected gusts above 40 knots (46mph), National Highways closes the M48 Severn Bridge to all traffic until wind speeds have dropped.

If wind speeds exceed 70 knots (80mph), both bridges are closed.

Traffic can still travel between England and Wales by following a diversion using the M5, M50, A40 and A449.

With the busiest day for road traffic in the Christmas period here, traffic on the roads is already starting to feel congested in places and lanes are also being closed.

There is a lane closed on the M5 southbound between J30 near Exeter/ Topsham and J31 near Matford / Exminster due to a vehicle fire, with delays of one and a half hours against expected traffic, Traffic England says.

M40 northbound within J1A before M25 J16 anti-clockwise access near Hockley Heath also has lane closures due to a vehicle being overturned.

The M55 has also experienced a road traffic collision at the eastbound entry slip at J1, causing a lane to be closed.

Incidents on the motorway will cause varying delays for traffic, while severe congestion is also being found across many sections of different motorways.

Rain and potentially disruptive strong winds are expected to sweep across large swathes of the UK on Saturday, weather that has the potential to cause delays to public transport and some disruption to the road network.

National severe weather warnings for wind have been put in place for both Saturday and Sunday.

“We have slightly tweaked our weather warnings as the peak winds have now shifted slightly north,” the Met Office wrote on Friday. “

“The strongest winds are expected across the far north of Scotland on Saturday afternoon and evening, with the potential for gusts in excess of 80 mph in coastal districts including Orkney.”

As for the entire country, “strong winds will be more widespread on Sunday, with gusts of 50-60 mph expected quite widely. Around some exposed coasts and hills, gusts of 60 to 70 mph are possible, especially in the north and west.

“In addition, squally showers are likely with some hail and thunder possible in places. A Yellow National Severe Weather Warning is in place, covering a large swathe of the UK.”

After 18 months of closure, the Kentish Town Tube station is due to be up and running on 23 December.

While Thameslink services have been calling at the railway station, passengers have not been able to change for the London Underground there since its closure in June 2023.

Major upgrades have been carried out to the station, such as the replacement of the station’s 26-year-old escalators and replacing the ticket hall’s floor and ceiling.

The station won’t be open for long, however, as London’s public transport closes for Christmas Day.

There will be no service on the majority of public transport in London on Christmas Day and no services on some parts of the network on Boxing Day, including the Elizabeth line.

Network Rail is using the festive period to carry out a series of improvements and enhancements to the railways, however, this will impact train services over Christmas.

No services will call at London Paddington between Friday 27 and Sunday 29 December inclusive. Some long-distance services will instead be diverted to/from London Euston, with the majority of trains starting/stopping at Reading and Ealing Broadway.

Those who are aiming for central London can change at Ealing Broadway and take a London Underground service into the city, using either the District or Central lines.

Services that run through Westbury will also be impacted. From Friday 27 December to Thursday 23 January inclusive, the railway through Westbury, as well as between Westbury and Salisbury, Wiltshire will be closed and trains will be diverted or replaced by buses.