Get ready for holiday getaway chaos

Travellers told to expect disruption on roads and rail

HEATHROW Airport today announced it is set to carry a record 800,000 travellers over the great Easter getaway.

It forecasts a massive 40 per cent increase in the number of families travelling with small children. The 395,192 departures and 411,074 arrivals beat last year’s record by 1.3 per cent.

Gat wick is also expecting record numbers with 480,000 travelling — an 11 per cent increase on last year.

Figures for the entire Easter school holidays show more than two million passengers will use Gatwick, a 4.7 per cent increase on last year.

British Airways expects its busiest day on Easter Monday with 142,000 booked to fly. This is followed by Sunday April 12 with 135,000 set to fly.

Many rail lines serving the capital are closed with motorists facing traffic levels four times heavier than usual.

Maundy Thursday lunchtime will be the busiest for years, with warnings of up to two-hour jams along the Heathrow section of the M25. The AA predicts 15 million will hit the roads, with the heaviest traffic on routes south-west.

Network Rail (NR) will have 14,000 engineers and track workers out during the break. There are numerous closures, diversions and changes to timetables to allow work across the UK.

Euston station is closed to all mainline services while engineers replace a large bridge over the tracks at Watford. Virgin West Coast trains to and from the north are starting and terminating at Milton Keynes, Rugby or Northamp- ton. There will be no London Midland or Southern services from the station.

Paddington station is closed to First Great Western services to enable work on a multi-million pound improvement scheme at Reading.

NR plans to reopen the tracks 3.30am on Tuesday — just 90 minutes before trains are due on some of the busiest commuter routes into the c apit al. Chief executive Mark Carne has apologised in advance for any disruption: “I’d like to apologise to any passengers ... affected by our improvement work, but I hope they understand that this is a quieter time on the railway and we want to minimise the overall impact of these vital projects.”