Ice, snow and strikes spell travel misery for millions across UK

Widespread wintry conditions and a massive rail strike spell travel misery for millions across the country.

Commuters are facing a miserable week as roads continue to ice over under freezing temperatures at the same time as trains grind to a halt.

RMT workers have walked out for 48 hours, the first of two strikes which will shut down the network this week, after fresh pay talks broke down.

Much of the country, including most of Wales and Scotland, will have no trains at all until Friday, and a small number of remaining services will only run between 7.30am and 6.30pm.

Extra demand on the roads comes at the same time as some councils battle to get enough gritters out to keep them open.

Local authorities are struggling to recruit HGV drivers qualified to drive the vehicles used to spread salt, leaving smaller roads vulnerable.

Weather warnings remain in place for much of the UK and forecasters say fresh snow could be on the way.

A massive rail strike coupled with freezing temperatures spells a day of commuting chaos for millions (Picture: PA)

Extra demand on roads caused by the train strike comes as council struggle to get enough gritters out (Picture: Shutterstock)

Temperatures in the Aberdeenshire highlands broke records yesterday, hitting lows of -15.7C and peaking at -9.3C, the lowest minimum temperature since February 2021 and the lowest maximum in 12 years.

A yellow snow and ice warning covers northern Scotland and north-east England from midnight on Tuesday until noon on Thursday.

London, the South East and parts of the southern coast are covered by a separate ice warning until 11am today.

Met Office spokesman Oli Claydon warned snow could be on the way throughout the day further north.

He said: ‘Coming into force at midnight tonight all the way through to lunchtime on Thursday, (there is a) large snow and ice warning covering the North East of England, the whole sort of northern portion of Scotland, as well as the Highlands and islands.

He said there could be ‘as much as 15 to 20 centimetres of snow accumulating over high ground’.

Motorists will face icy, busy roads this rush hour across the country (Picture: McLellan)

Two 48-hour strikes means parts of the country will have no rail service for most of the week (Picture: LNP)

The RAC said recovery staff were ‘exceptionally busy’ on Monday, helping more than 7,500 motorists with breakdowns, a 50% increase.

Drivers on northern sections of the M25 were stranded for several hours on Monday as traffic was at a standstill.

National Highways said it had up to 25 gritters spreading 960 tonnes of salt and more than 18,000 litres of anti-freeze but other authorities don’t have the capacity to cover every road.

The AA has warned motorists about ‘treacherous’ conditions, saying ‘many smaller suburban and rural roads won’t be cleared’.

A spokesperson continued: ‘Motorists should plan ahead and assess whether their journey is essential until later in the week when the temperature rises and the snow melts.’

Some tube lines are experiencing knock-on delays as a result of industrial action by Network Rail employees.

There could also be more delays at UK airports, which have struggled with cancellations since the cold-snap kicked in.

More than 300 flights due to serve UK airports were cancelled across Sunday and Monday, with Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Stansted and Bristol among those affected.

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The Met Office warns more freezing conditions are on the way and RMT workers have started a new 48-hour walk-out.