Bank holiday weekend worse than usual

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Car Rental News - 30/05/2011

 

Travel delays and bad weather made the long weekend even worse than many had expected.

Problems on the railways, coupled with uninspiring weather, made the latest bank holiday weekend an even less enjoyable affair than most people have even got used to joking about. Sunday saw yet another day of rail disruptions, as classic UK holiday highway tailbacks and gloomy overcast weather created a weekend most will probably prefer to forget.

Extended delays were the order of play for people trying to use the railways in and out of London. The East Coast main line was disrupted between Aberdeen and King’s Cross after overhead power lines were damaged in two separate incidents.

The first problem with the East Coast main line caused travel problems on Saturday. Some 200 metres of overhead wires were damaged along the line at Copmanthorpe, outside York.

The second problem came yesterday, as some 200 metres of overhead lines were damaged close to Grantham, Lincolnshire. About 70 rail services were delayed.

Services travelling both ways between Grantham in Lincolnshire and Peterborough in Cambridgeshire were cancelled. The problems were horrifically timed for Saturday’s match at Wembley.

Many fans were hoping to see Manchester United play but the delays began in the morning, just after 10am. For the rest of the day, the railway line connecting London and the north experienced delays of as much as two hours.

On the roads on Saturday, drivers found themselves ensnared in a 16-mile tailback in Somerset, following an accident near Bridgwater. Another incident on the A466 in the West Midlands, close to Bassetts Pole, left three people in hospital and led to long queues on roads in the area.

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