Your guide to travelling this Easter weekend

4 hours ago

Sammy JenkinsWest of England

Drivers have been told to expect congestion on key routes in the West

PA Media Cars queuing in both directions on the M5 motorway near Burnham-on-Sea in Somerset. There are trees either side of the motorway. — Drivers have been told to expect congestion on key routes in the West

As the Easter weekend approaches, large numbers of people will be on the roads ahead of the long weekend.

Despite fuel price increases, the RAC motoring group said the roads are expected to be the busiest since 2022, with almost 21 million getaways planned across the UK.

Here is your guide to travelling by road, train and plane in the west this weekend.

On the trains

GWR said track renewals and signalling work will impact services on Good Friday

Getty Images A GWR branded train arriving at a platform at Bristol Temple Meads railway station. Passengers are waiting to get on the train. — GWR said track renewals and signalling work will impact services on Good Friday

Network Rail said the vast majority of the rail network would be open for passengers travelling over the Easter bank holiday weekend, while Great Western Railway (GWR) has advised passengers to check before they travel.

GWR said track renewals and signalling work will impact train services from 18:00 BST on Good Friday.

Replacement transport is planned between:

Westbury and Frome or Castle Cary
Taunton and Castle Cary
Swindon and Pewsey

Trains between London Paddington and Plymouth or Penzance will use an alternative route between Reading and Taunton, with some stopping additionally at Swindon.

While some trains will also be operating between Reading and Bedwyn, no trains will stop at Pewsey.

From Good Friday to Easter Sunday, GWR trains will operate between Weymouth and Castle Cary and between Bristol Temple Meads and Westbury after 1800.

On the roads

According to the RAC, traffic is expected to be busy on Good Friday, although levels are likely to be consistently high from later on Thursday, when many schools break up.

Drivers are being advised to set off early, as major roads are expected to be busy from 10:00 BST on Good Friday and Saturday and Easter Monday.

In a bid to ease congestion, National Highways plans to lift 1,500 miles of roadworks over the Easter period.

The RAC said journey times on the M5 southbound between junction 15 at the Almondsbury Interchange and junction 23 for Bridgwater could be extended by more than 50 minutes at lunchtime on Good Friday.

It is also predicting delays of over an hour between junction 25 for Taunton and junction 15 at midday on Easter Monday, as motorists return from their Easter trips.

At the airport

About 150,000 passengers are expected to use Bristol Airport over the Easter weekend

The departures lounge at Bristol Airport. People are sitting or standing. They are holding suitcases or eating and reading. Some are looking at the departure boards. — About 150,000 passengers are expected to use Bristol Airport over the Easter weekend

Bristol Airport issued travel advice on Friday ahead of what it said would be a busy Easter getaway.

The transport hub said about 725,000 people would fly from the airport over the three-week period until 19 April, with about 150,000 of those flying over the Easter weekend alone.

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