London travel news LIVE: Major traffic jam on M25 amid Easter getaway chaos

Holidaymakers heading off for the Easter weekend had to contend with 20-mile traffic jams, two-hour delays at Dover, and rail chaos on Friday.

Traffic was queueing on the M25 clockwise in Surrey in the afternoon after an earlier crash just after junction 8.

All lanes are understood to have re-opened, but the congestion was backing up between junction 8 at the A217 Brighton Road (Reigate) and junction 9 A243 (Leatherhead), as of around 4.40pm.

There was also significant congestion elsewhere on the M25, with traffic especially bad on the western side and reports of 40-minute queues.

Elsewhere holiday traffic caused "pretty horrendous" 20-mile long queues on the M4 and M5 interchange near Bristol, adding 45 minutes to journey times, as around 2.6 million car journeys were expected to be made on Good Friday.

Meanwhile drivers approaching the Channel crossing were facing two-hour waits to be processed, warned the Port of Dover.

With 175,000 people due to jet off from Stansted this weekend, Stansted Express train services from London were disrupted for a large proportion of Friday.

The disruption - which affected trains between Liverpool Street and Stansted Airport, and Cambridge North, and was caused by damage from Storm Nelson on Thursday night - finally ended shortly before 4pm.

On the railway, there are no trains running to or from London Euston – excluding London Overground - over the Easter weekend due to engineering works.

The Elizabeth Line, London Overground and DLR are all partially closed from Friday to Monday due to maintenance work. There are also severe delays on the Central Line.

South Western Railway, Southern, Thameslink and Southeastern routes will also be disrupted this weekend.

Network Rail has advised travellers to avoid the West Coast main line during the bank holiday, adding that engineering works will also impact southern routes to and from London.

For more details and the latest travel updates scroll down.

London Overground affected

Friday 29 March 2024 07:18 , Matt Watts

Transport for London is warning between Good Friday and Easter Monday, there will be no service between Highbury & Islington and New Cross / New Cross Gate / Clapham Junction due to planned works.

Elizabeth line disruption

Friday 29 March 2024 07:20 , Matt Watts

TfL have said between Good Friday and Saturday, a reduced service will operate between Paddington and Maidenhead / Heathrow. All trains will start and terminate at Paddington National Rail station. Heathrow Terminal 4, West Drayton, Langley, Slough, Burnham and Maidenhead will be served by two trains an hour. West Ealing will be served by four trains an hour. Ealing Broadway, Southall and Hayes & Harlington will be served by six trains per hour.From Good Friday until Easter Monday, no service will operate between Abbey Wood / Stratford and Paddington. Trains will operate between Shenfield and Liverpool Street National Rail station (not serving Whitechapel) and between Paddington National Rail station and Heathrow / Reading.

DLR part-closed all weekend

Friday 29 March 2024 07:48 , Lydia Chantler-Hicks

The DLR is partlyshut from Good Friday to Easter Monday, with no service between Tower Gateway and Shadwell.

There will also be no service running between Westferry/Canary Wharf and Stratford/Canning Town.

Only trains towards Bank will serve West India Quay. Replacement buses operate between Westferry and Canning Town.

Major disruption to Liverpool Street trains including Stansted Express expected until 10.30am

Friday 29 March 2024 08:47 , Lydia Chantler-Hicks

No trains are running between London Liverpool Street and Stansted Airport and Cambridge due to problems with overhead wires, says National Rail.

A ‘do not travel’ warning has been issued to customers planning to use these services.

The disruption is expected to last until 10.30am.Services affected:

• Greater Anglia between London Liverpool Street and Stansted Airport / Cambridge North

• Stansted Express between London Liverpool Street and Stansted Airport

“Due to overhead wire problems at Stansted Mountfitchet some lines are blocked,” says the National Rail website.

“Train services running through this station may be cancelled, delayed by up to 60 minutes or revised.

“Major disruption is expected until 10.30am.

“Customers are asked NOT TO TRAVEL between London Liverpool Street and Stansted Airport and Cambridge.

“Because of overhead wire problems between Harlow Town and Stansted Mountfichet, there are currently no trains running between London Liverpool Street and Stansted Airport and Cambridge.”

Storm damage cancels major train services to and from Liverpool Street

Friday 29 March 2024 08:52 , Lydia Chantler-Hicks

No northbound trains calling at Kensington Olympia after signalling fault

Friday 29 March 2024 09:34 , Lydia Chantler-Hicks

A fault with the signalling system means northbound services are unable to call at Kensington Olympia.

Northbound Overground and Southern rail services will run non-stop between West Brompton and Shepherds Bush, says National Rail.

This disruption is expected until midday.

Severe delays on Central Line

Friday 29 March 2024 09:47 , Lydia Chantler-Hicks

TfL says there are severe delays between Epping and Loughton on the Central Line while it fixes a signal failure at Debden.

There are also minor delays on the rest of the line due to train cancellations.

Photos show crowds of passengers at King's Cross St Pancras as Easter getaway continues

Friday 29 March 2024 10:51 , Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Lines now reopen after storm damage but delays still expected

Friday 29 March 2024 12:33 , Will Mata

National Rail has said that overhead wire problems at Stanstead Mountfitchet have now been resolved.

The line north from London into Essex has now reopened but a knock on effect is causing disruption.

Latest reports suggest this will be the case until 2pm.

Kensington Olympia disruption now expected until the end of the day

Friday 29 March 2024 12:40 , Will Mata

Disruption is expected to continue until the end of the day on the Overground to Kensington Olympia.

The signalling fault reported this morning has not been resolved on the route andthe issue will remain, National Rail has said.

Traffic as a stalled truck blocks A1261 in Blackwall

Friday 29 March 2024 12:59 , Will Mata

Traffic in one lane of the A1261 has ground to a halt after a lorry stalled in Blackwall.

There are currently queues of around 8km on the northbound section.

'Pretty horrendous' 20-mile queues on major motorways

Friday 29 March 2024 14:47 , Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Holiday traffic has caused "pretty horrendous" 20-mile long queues on major motorways, adding 45 minutes to journey times.

Around 2.6 million car journeys were expected to be made today, with "significant" congestion around the M25 and roads in the South West and South East by lunchtime.

The RAC said holidaymakers heading south were behind much of the congestion after forecasters predicted sunnier spells there over the next few days.

Queues of 15 to 20 miles were seen on the M4 and M5 interchange near Bristol, which is adding 45 minutes on to journey times.

Meanwhile, the western side of the M25 was described as "pretty bad" and a "lot worse than normal", with 40-minute queues.

It was also busy on the top-end of the M20, with congestion heading into Folkestone.

Traffic queuing on M25 in Surrey following earlier crash

Friday 29 March 2024 16:32 , Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Traffic is queueing on the M25 clockwise in Surrey after an earlier crash just after junction 8.

The congestion is backing up from junction 8 at the A217 Brighton Road (Reigate) to junction 9 A243 (Leatherhead).

All lanes are understood to have been re-opened, according to traffic monitoring website Inrix.

Stansted Mountfitchet disruption ends

Friday 29 March 2024 16:44 , Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Disruption to and from Liverpool Street via Stansted Mountfitchet - due to damage to overhead wires caused by Storm Nelson last night - is finally over.

Stansted Express and Greater Anglia services are understood to be running normally again.

No trains between Redhill and Tonbridge until 8pm

Friday 29 March 2024 17:09 , Robert Dex

National Rail said there will be no service between Redhill and Tonbridge until 8pm.

They said a safety inspection found “a track defect”.

Port of Dover boss says worst is over after storm

Friday 29 March 2024 17:13 , Robert Dex

Port of Dover chief executive Doug Bannister they were “back on top of it” after chaos caused by Storm Nelson.

He told Sky News: “We suffered a bit of a backlog overnight because of the weather impacting on sailings but we've got back on top of it".

Signalling problems hit Greenwich trains

Friday 29 March 2024 20:07 , Robert Dex

Train lines via Greenwich are blocked because of a fault with the signalling system between Charlton and London Bridge.

Thameslink said trains running to and from these stations will be diverted via Lewisham with disruption expected to last to 10pm.

Coverage ends tonight

Friday 29 March 2024 20:30 , Robert Dex

Thank you for reading.