Bank holiday weekend travel disruption expected on British roads and rail.

Heavy traffic is expected on some roads, and rail passengers are advised to check for engineering works.

Holidaymakers in Britain have been warned that they may face travel delays this weekend due to the weight of nearly 18 million car journeys and widespread rail engineering works that are expected to cause disruption over the August bank holiday, which is celebrated in England and Wales.

The RAC advised drivers to leave as early as possible to avoid heavy traffic, especially on major routes to airports and coastal areas. The south-east and south-west of England are expected to experience the most congestion.

Inrix, a transport analytics company, predicts heavy traffic on the M5 between Bristol and Devon. On Friday and Saturday, there are likely to be delays of more than 40 minutes on the stretch between junction 15 north of Bristol and junction 23 for Bridgwater.

On Friday, drivers crossing the Channel via Dover or Folkestone are expected to face delays of more than 30 minutes on the M20 in Kent.

Travel will be most convenient after 7 p.m. on Friday, before 9 a.m. on Saturday, and before 11 a.m. on Monday, with traffic expected to be lighter on Sunday.

Approximately 17.6 million car trips are expected to be made over the long weekend.

The figures are based on a survey of 2,080 UK adults and extrapolated to the 34 million cars licensed in the UK. According to Nick Mullender, the RAC’s repairs team leader, more traffic on the roads will inevitably lead to more vehicle breakdowns, especially if the sun shines and people decide to visit popular destinations that day.

Anyone planning a route through these areas should leave as early as possible or expect to spend more time in traffic. Rail passengers face unique challenges. Some major routes will be closed for engineering work as Network Rail completes 261 projects over the long weekend.

Long-distance services between London King’s Cross and Peterborough will be suspended on Sunday, affecting Anglo-Scottish routes along the east coast mainline operated by LNER and Lumo.

Avanti West Coast will operate a reduced service to and from London Euston from Saturday to Monday, with trains between Birmingham New Street and Birmingham International diverted, adding time to journeys.

London Northwestern will only provide services to and from Birmingham International. Helen Hamlin, Network Rail’s chief network operator, stated:

“While the vast majority of the railway will be operational, work on some parts of the network is unfortunately unavoidable as we complete major work to support a better, more reliable railway, which we would not be able to complete on a normal weekend.

So we’re asking passengers to double-check their routes ahead of time to ensure they won’t be affected.” This article was modified on August 19, 2025.

An earlier version cited agency reports indicating that there would be no Avanti West Coast trains between Birmingham New Street and Birmingham International from Saturday to Monday.

There will be trains, but a diversion will cause the journeys to take longer. Additionally, the spelling of Bridgwater has been corrected.