Christmas traffic: When are busiest days on roads?

Traffic data experts at Inrix and the RAC have warned that this year's Christmas getaway could be the busiest since 2013

People travelling over Christmas have been urged to plan ahead amid port closures, rail disruption and with the roads the busiest for a decade.

Traffic analysts forecast Friday, Saturday and the following Tuesday - Christmas Eve - as the busiest days on the roads over the festive period, with Sunday and Monday not far behind.

Ferry passengers on the busiest sea route between Britain and Ireland will be affected by the ongoing closure of Holyhead port on Anglesey, which will be shut until at least 15 January after it was damaged in Storm Darragh.

The UK's two busiest train stations will shut between Christmas and new year.

Both Liverpool Street and Paddington in London will be closed - affecting passengers on England's east coast and south west services and trains to south Wales - because of engineering work.

When will roads be busiest this Christmas?

Experts have said while Christmas falling on a Wednesday this year may spread traffic over a number of days, they forecast five days of congestion on the roads.

Traffic data firm Inrix predicts almost 30m journeys this Christmas with an estimate of more than three million journeys on each of Friday, Saturday and Christmas Eve.

Inrix and motoring group RAC have advised drivers that the worst time to travel will be between 13:00 GMT and 19:00, suggesting setting off either early or in the evening and leaving plenty of time.

Where are the busiest Christmas traffic hotspots?

The M4 in south Wales - between Cardiff through to the roadworks on the Prince Of Wales Bridge - will be among the busiest stretches of road on Friday, according to the AA.

Motorways around London, Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, Liverpool and Chester are also forecast to be busy over Christmas.

Larger road projects like the £1.3bn Heads of the Valleys upgrade in south Wales will still have roadworks over the festive period

One boost for drivers is that most roadworks will be suspended for Christmas in both Wales and England.

But Traffic Wales, the Welsh government information service, said: "Some major roadworks may have limited traffic management restrictions left in place for safety reasons."

Both highways agencies in Wales and England say emergency repair works will "fall outside this embargo period".

What will ferries be like this Christmas?

Traditionally, Christmas is the busiest time for ferry operators, but Holyhead on Anglesey, one of the UK's busiest ports is shut to traffic until the new year.

Holyhead, the busiest route between Britain and Ireland, will not reopen for passengers until 15 January.

Normally 5,500 passengers pass through Holyhead on average every day

Stena Line and Irish Ferries each operate four daily ferry sailings travelling each way between Holyhead and Dublin - and carry on average 5,500 passengers and 1,200 lorries and trailers a day.

The port on Anglesey has already been shut for 10 days since it was damaged in Storm Darragh and both ferry companies are offering passengers travel on its other crossings between Ireland and Wales.

Will trains be running over Christmas?

Services on most UK rail routes will finish earlier than normal on Christmas Eve before the network shuts down on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Trains from south Wales, south west England and Heathrow Airport will be affected by London Paddington's closure between 27-29 December for HS2 construction work to be carried out at the new Old Oak Common station in west London.

Paddington will be shut between Christmas and new year so trains from south Wales and south west of England will terminate at Euston instead

Great Western Railway trains will start and end from London Euston but passengers are warned that station will be very busy because of these extra services.

Trains between north Wales and Manchester and London and south Wales after Christmas will be affected by major signal upgrades at Crewe between 27 December and 2 January.

Station improvement work will close Liverpool Street between Christmas and New Year while some services to another major London hub at St Pancras will also be impacted from 20 December.

"With railway engineering work taking place at Liverpool Street, Paddington and St Pancras over Christmas and New Year, major roads to and from London are likely to be impacted," said the RAC.

Services on most UK rail routes will finish earlier than normal on Christmas Eve

"Major signalling work in Crewe and Cambridge will also affect services across the North West and East of England, meaning roads in these areas could also be much busier than usual."

Another blow for rail passengers is that days after Christmas strike action was called off on the west coast main line - which links London with north Wales, north west England and Scotland - now there's a walkout on New Year's Eve and 2 January.