British families faced bank holiday travel chaos today as trains were suspended, ferry passengers faced two-hour waits and more than three million drivers took to the roads.
Avanti West Coast has advised customers not to travel to or from London Euston station after a major signal failure blocked all services between the capital and Milton Keynes.
The chaos came on top of Network Rail’s pre-planned engineering work on the West Coast Main Line, resulting in longer journeys between London and Scotland.
This included changing buses between Preston and Carlisle and Carlisle to Glasgow or Edinburgh; and a modified service between Stafford and Crewe.
In London, the Elizabeth line between Paddington and Southall was disrupted due to a speed restriction imposed over the faulty track; while overhead trains faced delays due to an object getting stuck in overhead power cables.
It was also a busy day for driving, with the RAC estimating that 3.4 million motorists will be on the roads today on the final day of the three-day bank holiday weekend. The worst period for congestion is expected today between 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM.
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In addition, DFDS Ferries warned customers of a “busy day” at the port of Dover in Kent and told them to allow 120 minutes to complete border checks and check-in.
And thousands of Britons were stuck in queues for hours at Birmingham Airport amid “horrendous” and “horrendous” scenes as families jetted off for their half-term holidays.
Avanti West Coast said today: “Due to a serious signaling failure in the Cheddington area, we are advising customers not to travel to or from London Euston.”
But one angry passenger tweeted the operator to say: “Thanks again for another disastrous journey from the north to London – I don’t know how you manage it!”
Another said: “West Coast Avanti is again canceling train loads at the last minute. An absolute wreck of a company, unfit for purpose.”
And a third added: “When you book your train time, you’re just told it’s going to be late.”
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All services between Milton Keynes and Watford Junction were closed for a period this morning. Although they have since reopened, passengers were still being warned of the cancellation this afternoon.
Passengers have been told that tickets dated for today can be used tomorrow – with travel on various routes between London, the Midlands and the North West also advised after ticket acceptance was introduced with other operators.
However, there were also problems on Thameslink trains due to a signaling fault between St Albans and West Hampstead; and on Transport for Wales between Shrewsbury and Wrexham due to an emergency.
Further north on ScotRail there was disruption between Edinburgh and Helensburgh Central and between Airdrie and Balloch due to a train fault at Airdrie.
It comes as parts of Britain faced bank holiday flooding today, Monday, with up to an inch of rain expected, along with warnings of flash flooding and thunderstorms.
The Met Office said most areas of the UK will experience a mix of sunny spells and scattered showers at the start of the last week of the meteorological spring.
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But slow-moving heavy showers and thunderstorms could cause flooding and travel disruption in Scotland, where 1.6 inches (40 mm) of rain is expected to fall in a few hours.
Temperatures will be around average for the time of year with highs of 19°C (66°F) today, although forecasters said it would feel cool under any cloud or rain.
The Met Office said the low pressure area will continue to move slowly across the British Isles, maintaining the changeable theme seen over the weekend.
But today will be cooler than at the weekend – when London reached a high of 21.6C (70.9F) – with brisk breezes blowing from the south and west.
The Met Office has issued a yellow thunderstorm warning for northern and eastern mainland Scotland from 11am to 10pm today.
Met Office meteorologist Greg Dewhurst said: “There are some subtle differences – in general I think England and Wales will see less frequent and less heavy showers compared to Sunday, so there should be longer and drier spells in between.
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“But if people are going out, it’s worth having a rope and a raincoat because there’s a shower almost anywhere, which is true even in Northern Ireland.”
Thicker cloud is expected to move across SW England by the end of the day, with a chance of some rain, but any showers should ease as the evening progresses.
Another frontal system will move in from the west tomorrow and rain will spread across many areas after a bright start in the east, with temperatures around average.
Low pressure will continue to dominate the weather until Wednesday, with many areas seeing a mix of sunshine and showers that may be heavy and stormy in places.
This low will then start to move east on Thursday, but many areas will see sunny and wet conditions again – although western areas could be drier.
Eastern areas will still be under the influence of a low pressure area until Friday, continuing the rainy theme, but western parts are likely to experience a drier day.
The Outer Hebrides and Isle of Skye had separate warnings for rain from midnight to 9am, but it is not expected to be as heavy.
The Environment Agency has issued 22 flood warnings for England, all in southern areas.