The mad dash home! Christmas getaway in chaos as rail passengers at Paddington discover it is already shut and won't reopen until Thursday
Christmas getaway continues as millions of Britons hit the roads, rails and airports, going home or on holiday
But stricken motorists are facing long delays as the M1 was closed due to a major accident this morning
Incident in the Eurotunnel left people heading across the channel facing delays following a technical fault
No trains operateing to or from London Paddington Saturday - Thursday because of work to build Crossrail
As the great Christmas getaway continues with millions heading home or on holiday for the festive season, stricken rail passengers have been left angry after one of the busiest stations in the capital closed.
No trains will operate to or from London Paddington from Saturday until Thursday because of work to build Crossrail - and a technical fault in the Eurotunnel is leading to delays for those crossing the channel.
Millions of people face a 'nasty cocktail' of potential road disruption, the AA has warned, on what is expected to be the second busiest day for traffic over the festive period.
Motorists are also facing long delays as the M1 was closed due to a major accident which injured several people.
Rail passengers face disruption, with the annual festive shutdown meaning no trains will run on Christmas Day, with only certain services on Boxing Day.
Network Rail defended its decision to bring swathes of Britain's train lines to a standstill for major engineering works over the festive period.
Meanwhile, five people were injured in a multi-vehicle crash which caused the M1 to close in Bedfordshire. Two people are thought to have life threatening injuries and the others are being treated for less serious injuries.
One man in his twenties is in a critical condition in St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London, after suffering a head injury in the collision at 2.33am.
Bedfordshire Police are carrying out investigations following the serious road traffic incident between Junction 12 at Flitwick/Woburn and Junction 13 for Bedford.
The road has been closed in both directions since the incident at 2.33am and police investigations are continuing at the scene.
The road, which is one of the busiest sections of motorway in the region is likely to remain closed for much of the morning on Christmas Eve.
Drivers are being advised to allow extra time for their journeys especially if they are heading for Luton airport.
TRAIN IMPROVEMENTS SET TO CAUSE DISRUPTION
Rail passengers face disruption, with the annual festive shutdown meaning no trains will run on Christmas Day, with only certain services on Boxing Day.
A number of lines will be closed for an extended period as Network Rail carries out up to 200 improvement projects costing £103 million.
Work on some schemes will begin on Saturday to give engineers and maintenance teams four days to carry out upgrades before the next working day.
No trains will operate to or from London Paddington between Saturday and Thursday because of work to build Crossrail.
Passengers travelling in Manchester and Cardiff will also be among the worst affected by engineering work.
Up to 200 railway projects are being delivered this Christmas and New Year. The major projects to take place over the Christmas and New Year period are:
London Paddington: No services until Thursday. Heathrow Express service between Heathrow Airport and Paddington will be suspended for six days and Great Western Railway trains will terminate at Ealing Broadway.
London Liverpool Street - Ingatestone / Billericay
London Charing Cross / London Cannon Street - London Bridge: Engineering work taking place in the London Charing Cross area closing all lines in and out of the station until December 27
London Waterloo - Clapham Junction
Newport - Cardiff Central
Manchester Piccadilly - Eccles / Salford Crescent / Trafford Park: Lines closed until January 2 with disruption on various routes to Manchester Airport
A number of lines will be closed for an extended period as Network Rail carries out up to 200 improvement projects costing £103 million.
Work on some schemes will begin on Saturday to give engineers and maintenance teams four days to carry out upgrades before the next working day.
This will hit rail passengers with added disruption, as the annual festive shutdown means no trains on Christmas Day and only certain services on Boxing Day.
The move was justified by Network Rail chief executive Mark Carne as preferable to other times of the year due to lower passenger numbers.
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