80% of festive travellers hit the roads, with 20m trips predicted

Festive season travellers are flocking to the roads, with around eight in 10 planning to hit the network this year, as rail strikes leave some areas of the country without any trains.

A Christmas travel survey of 2,000 people from independent transport watchdog Transport Focus found that just 23% of those surveyed planned to use public transport. Only 17% intended to travel by train.

Anthony Smith, chief executive of the independent watchdog Transport Focus, said: 'As thousands of people plan to travel to visit family and friends, it is disappointing that the railway can't offer a reliable option. The ongoing rail strike disruption, leaving some areas without any trains at all, will make this an extremely challenging festive travel period for some.

'With many taking to the roads we'd encourage people to plan ahead, checking traffic conditions before heading out. Road users will want to be alerted to any disruption on their journey, and passengers will need crystal clear, reliable information on what services will run.'

Over the Christmas period, passengers should look to see if their train is running through their train operator or National Rail Enquiries.

Road users should also check travel alerts and their vehicles before they set off.

The RAC and traffic data company INRIX, predicted there would be 19.6m separate trips by car to see friends and family between today (19th December) and Christmas Eve.

INRIX expects travel times to be around 14% longer compared to the same period last year with stretches of the M25, M60 near Manchester, M6 in the north-west and M40 in Oxfordshire seeing some of the longest jams.

In what is thought to be a first since its creation as a Government-owned company, National Highways has also been hit with industrial action this year.

Despite fears this could cause safety issues on vulnerable areas of the network such as smart motorways, National Highways said it was not planning to reintroduce the hard shoulder on all lane running routes.

The national roads authority said it has contingency plans in place.