Thousands of holidaymakers have been left facing chaotic scenes after the Heathrow Express rail service lost all power.
The entire service ground to a halt before mid day as a result of a major electrical fault.
Engineers were planning to shut down the high-speed rail link on Christmas Eve.
Thousands of rail passengers are crowding stations across the country, such as these people at Kings Cross as the great Christmas getaway continues
Heathrow Express confirmed services were suspended earlier today due to power issues
Some passengers had just purchased tickets before the service from Paddington failed
Services on Heathrow Express resumed this afternoon although users can expect delays of up to ten minutes.
Network Rail plans to close the line between December 24 and December 27 for engineering works.
At lunchtime, most of the nation’s roads were flowing freely with few reported delays.
However, today is expected to be the busiest day for shopping, with traffic delays expected near major shopping centres and retail outlets.
Today, more than 1.5 million motorists are expected to take a ‘leisure journey’ possibly returning to their home or visiting friends and relatives ahead of Christmas.
A similar number are expected to do the same on Christmas eve.
RAC traffic spokesman Rod Dennis said: ‘The roads are traditionally busy in the run-up to Christmas, especially when you have commuters, commercial and leisure traffic all competing for space.
‘We’re then expecting pre-Christmas leisure trips to peak on Christmas Eve, with getaway traffic combining with the inevitable dashes to the shops for last-minute Christmas presents.
Holiday makers have been lucky so far this Christmas season with mild weather conditions
‘Highways England has announced that 99% of England’s strategic roads – that’s motorways and major A-roads – will be free of roadworks by this time which should ease things, but it only takes a single accident or breakdown in some locations to bring traffic grinding to a halt.
‘Don’t let an avoidable breakdown get in the way of you reaching your destination this Christmas. A few moments now spent checking the condition of your car could save hours stuck in the dark.
‘Make sure you have enough fuel for your journey, and ensure your oil and screenwash are topped up to the correct levels. While there are no signs yet of the recent harsh wintry conditions returning, you should still check that your tyres have plenty of tread and are properly inflated.
‘Finally, carry an emergency kit of food, water, a torch and some warm blankets so you and your passengers can stay reasonably comfortable in the event your car does let you down.’
Highways England’s customer service director Melanie Clarke said: ‘We’re doing everything we can to make journeys as smooth as possible this Christmas and that’s why we’re keeping 99% of the road network we manage free from roadworks. Over the past two years we’ve already added 190 lane miles of much-needed capacity and that will make life easier for those travelling around this month, as the festive countdown begins.’
Passengers planning to use the West Coast main line have been warned it will be shut between tomorrow and December 27 between Preston and Lancaster with a rail replacement service in operation.
Passengers travelling between London and Glasgow during this time are advised to go via Edinburgh, adding around an hour to journeys.
Southeastern, which serves London, Kent and East Sussex, will not be able to run trains to London Bridge, Charing Cross and Cannon Street between today and January 1.
Network Rail chief executive Mark Carne said: ‘We know that our railway is up to 50 per cent quieter than usual during the festive period so taking on and delivering these huge transformational schemes at this time of year minimises our impact on passengers.’
Coach operator National Express is running its largest ever Christmas schedule to meet increased demand from key locations such as Bournemouth, Cardiff, Leeds, Edinburgh, Portsmouth, Bristol, Glasgow and Manchester.
Airports, ports and international train stations will be exceptionally busy with more than 4.5 million people heading abroad over Christmas and the new year.
Travel trade organisation Abta advised people to leave extra time to catch their flight, boat or train.
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