Travellers face disruption on the railways, and jams on British roads during Easter.

File picture of motorists queuing in heavy traffic on the M25 between junction 12 and 13 at the start of the Easter getaway as travellers face disruption on the railways and jams on the roads during Easter.

File picture of motorists queuing in heavy traffic on the M25 between junction 12 and 13 at the start of the Easter getaway as travellers face disruption on the railways and jams on the roads during Easter. Image by Andrew Matthews/PA Wire

Once Easter is over, there could be serious delays at ports when strict new passport exit checks for departing passengers are introduced on 8 April.

As is usual during bank holiday periods, there is a large programme of engineering work on the railways with a number of major routes affected.

One of the most-disrupted routes is the London to Scotland West Coast main line.

The Easter holiday will also see no Southeastern train company services running to or from the London stations of Charing Cross, Waterloo East or Cannon Street.

The pressure will be on NR to ensure its big engineering programme finishes on time. Last Christmas there was travel chaos in north London after work at King’s Cross and at Paddington stations overran.

On the roads, traffic information company Inrix is predicting that the worst-affected congestion hotspots in south east and south west England could be twice as busy as last Easter.

The company reckons those heading by road to Gatwick and Heathrow airports on Thursday could face up to four times the standard journey time, with a typical 30-minute journey around the western section of the M25 taking up to two hours.

Inrix said the busiest days will be Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Monday.

Inrix traffic analyst Greg Hallsworth said: “On the one hand, increased traffic on the roads, railways and public transport signifies good news for the economy, with more people travelling and increasing numbers of goods being moved across the country.

“For those planning an Easter weekend getaway, our advice is to check before you travel.

“With rail closures, diversions and huge numbers of vehicles on the roads, many routes will be busier than usual.”

The RAC said that as many as 16 million motorists were set to take to the roads over Easter.

It estimated that 4 million will be travelling on Good Friday and around 4.5 million will be on the road on Easter Sunday.

(Press Association)