Met Office gives verdict on snow tomorrow after warmest Christmas Eve in decades

No trains will run in the UK on 25 December 2023.

But many of the 20 million Brits without a car can enjoy better public transport on Christmas Day than ever – from Aberdeen to the Isle of Wight and South Wales to East Anglia.

The best service of all is on the Isle of Wight, with regular buses from 8am to midnight.

Simon Calder, Travel Correspondent of The Independent, has rounded up the options.

It will come after gusts as high as 70mph hit much of Scotland and northern and central areas of England on Christmas Eve.

Two separate yellow wind warnings have been issued by the Met Office, saying people should expect travel disruption, damage to buildings and power cuts, while the rest of the country may see showers.

Forecasters say gusts of up to 56mph hit parts of the Isle of Wight and Northern Ireland on Sunday morning.

Two London intercity terminals – King’s Cross and Paddington – are completely closed for engineering work. Network Rail projects are beginning across Britain, with some continuing until early January.

London Euston is once again seeing widespread cancellations. On Saturday Avanti West Coast, which connects the capital with the West Midlands, northwest England, North Wales and southern Scotland, cancelled dozens of trains due to staff shortage.

Bad weather is causing further disruption as millions try to reach their destinations. National Highways says the M48 Severn Bridge in Gloucestershire is currently closed in both directions between Junction 1 (Aust) and Junction 2 (Chepstow) due to strong winds.

“Traffic should use the M4 Prince of Wales Bridge as an alternate route,” the organisation says.

Some strategic bridges are closed to high-sided vehicles, including the Humber Bridge.

Final departures are approaching quickly. Last ferries sail from Dover for Dunkerque at 2pm and Calais at 2.25pm.

On the railways, the last CrossCountry train from Bristol to Newcastle is at 2.38pm. From Edinburgh-Manchester Airport, the final TransPennine Express departure is at 4.12pm, and the last run before Christmas from Glasgow Central to London Euston is with Avanti West Coast at 4.38pm.

Millions of travellers are on the roads, railways and planes on Christmas Eve in the final travel surge before 25 December.

Rail passengers in particular have faced a litany of problems in the build-up to Christmas, with Storm Pia combining with staff shortage to disrupt trains within Britain.

Eurostar made 30 cancellations to and from Continental Europe on Thursday, when the Channel Tunnel closed because of a strike – wrecking the plans of 25,000 passengers.

Simon Calder has the full story

As with other services, Great Northern trains will finish earlier than usual and all routes will finish by around 9pm, with some ending even earlier.

Due to engineering work at London Kings Cross the following changes apply:

Until 10pm, buses will replace trains between Finsbury Park and Potters Bar / Hertford North.

No trains or replacement buses will run between London Kings Cross / Moorgate and Finsbury Park. Please use alternative London Underground services and London Bus routes including route 21 for stations to and from Moorgate.

On the roads, the middle of Christmas Eve is likely to see the biggest queues.

The RAC says : “There’s a good chance drivers will cram lots of journeys today 24 December, making it a good date to avoid being on the roads. If you can’t, allow some extra time and expect some lengthy delays.”

In southern Scotland, motorists are being warned of surface water, with some bridges – including across the Firth of Forth closed to high-sided vehicles due to strong winds.

At the Port of Dover, the approach to the French frontier post is now free-flowing. In previous days, queues of up to 90 minutes have built up due to post-Brexit border formalities.

The final ferries for Calais and Dunkirk depart in early afternoon on Christmas Eve, with cross-Channel sailings resuming on Boxing Day morning.

Eurotunnel will be running car-carrying shuttles between Folkestone and Dover throughout Christmas.

Network rail are warning passengers to check before they travel with services ending earlier than usual.

Avanti West Coast trains will stop running before usual and c2c servies will end at 11pm.

Chiltern Railways services between London Marylebone and Oxford are expected to be busy as they will be the only direct services between London and Oxford. London Paddington will be affected by engineering works.

CrossCountry warn passengers their trains are expected to be extremely busy, with last minute timetable changes expected and last trains earlier than usual.

East Midlands Railway are running a reduced service with an early shutdown.

Due to engineering work between London Paddington and Ealing Broadway, no Elizabeth Line services will operate between these stations but trains will run between Abbey Wood / Shenfield and London Paddington, and between Ealing Broadway and Heathrow Airport / Reading.

There are no Gatwick Express services running after 9pm and no Grand Central services will run due to engineering works between London Kings Cross and Peterborough.

A very windy Christmas Eve, especially for northeast England and Scotland, with severe gales possible. Turning cooler in the north with sunny spells and showers, some heavy. Rather cloudy further south with outbreaks of rain and drizzle, though very mild.

Three weather warnings are in place for rain and strong winds across Scotland, the North East of England and parts of western Wales.

Strong gales could cause travel disruption and damage buildings, predict the Met Office.