London travel news LIVE: Hugh Grant among motorists stuck for up to 5 hours on A3 chaos

Hugh Grant is among dozens of motorists who have been stuck in heavy traffic on the A3 in west London for up to five hours.

While the M25 is suffering from typical bank holiday weekend congestion, the A3 has been particularly problematic all Friday afternoon with the British actor taking to Twitter to beg TfL for some clarity on the chaos.

National Highways has warned of delays of up to 120 minutes on the A3 northbound between the A244 junction at Esher and the A309 junction at Chessington.

One frustrated motorist tweeted sarcastically: “Thank you for ruining Friday for thousands of people today. Spent over 4 hours stuck in traffic on the A3, only to find no workers at all! Unbelievable.”

Earlier, a crash involving a car and motorbike on the M25 shut two lanes of the motorway, causing long delays to motorists.

Just after 4pm, Transport for London reported ‘severe delays’ on the Elizabeth line. Mechanics are currently fixing a signal failure at Ilford.

Follow latest updates below…

That’s it from the Standard’s travel blog for Friday evening

21:49 , Anthony France

Colleagues will return early on Saturday.

London St Pancras to Luton train chaos continues due to tree branch

21:47 , Anthony France

Train lines have reopened between London St Pancras International and Luton, but disruption is expected until Saturday.

Network Rail teams have removed the overhanging tree branch. Services may still be cancelled or delayed.

Overhanging tree branch cause rail chaos between London St Pancras and Luton

18:34 , Anthony France

Trains between London St Pancras International and Luton may be cancelled or delayed.

A tree branch caught on overhead electric wires at St Albans means some lines are blocked.

Disruption is expected until 8pm.

A Network Rail team is on site making plans to remove the branch.

Angry motorist on gridlocked A3 in London ‘more than five hours’

18:20 , Anthony France

One motorist said he had been stuck on the A3 in London for five hours.

Musawir Idrees posted an emoji showing his exasperation on X, formerly Twitter, with the words: “Stuck on #A3 traffic for last 5 hours. Road works.”

Furious actor Hugh Grant stuck on A3 with his children for three hours

17:10 , Anthony France

Notting Hill and Love Actually star Hugh Grant complained he was stuck in a car on the A3 with his children for several hours.

The actor, 63, posted to Transport for London on X, formerly Twitter: “Any chance of an update on the situation on the A3 near Tolworth?

“Now entering third hour of almost stationary traffic jam. And long red line still ahead. And no exits. Children in car.”

TfL responded: “For safety, we’ve had to close two lanes of the A3 leading up to the Tolworth underpass due to emergency repair works.

“Unfortunately, severe delays are still present. We are monitoring the situation and note that traffic is moving, however slowly. We apologise for the delay.”

Transport for London reports ‘severe delays’ on Elizabeth line

16:25 , Will Mata

Transport for London has reported ‘severe delays’ on the Elizabeth line.

Mechanics are currently fixing a signal failure at Ilford.

Traffic into Essex with M25 lane closure

16:12 , Will Mata

There are currently delays on the M25 clockwise from J27 M11 to J28 A12 (Brentwood / Brook Street Roundabout).

Lane closures are in place due to a construction area.

Traffic builds as bank holiday weekend nears

16:09 , Will Mata

There is a growing amount of traffic on the M25 as motorists look to make a getaway before the long weekend.

Much of the M25 is now congested with long queues especially seen in the Surrey and Potters bar stretches.

Lan closures are in place clockwise from J21A A405 North Orbital Road (St Albans) to J23 A1(M) J1 (South Mimms). There are also long queues into Essex and Kent around the Dartford Crossing.

Delays continue on main roads

15:23 , Will Mata

There are delays on M25 anticlockwise from J8 A217 Brighton Road (Reigate) to J6 A22 (Godstone). Travel time is 20 minutes and lane closures are in place after J6.

There are also still severe delays on the London bound A3 from A243 Hook Road (Hook Junction) to Tolworth Roundabout. Congestion is back to the Esher Exit while Highways teams complete works.

Lanes now open on M25 near Leatherhead

14:36 , Will Mata

The collision on the M25 clockwise between junctions 9 and 10 has now cleared and all lanes are open.

However, delays of up to 45 minutes remain in place and there is around five miles of congestion.

‘Busiest day for airports since 2009’

14:32 , Will Mata

Aviation analytics company Cirium said Friday is the busiest day of the year for UK airports since October 2019, with more than 3,150 departing flights.

A total of 8,486 flights are scheduled to depart between Saturday and Monday, equating to more than 1.5 million seats.

The most popular international destinations for UK departures are Dublin, Amsterdam, Palma, Alicante and Malaga.

More than 20 million car journeys to be made this weekend

14:29 , Will Mata

Motoring services company the RAC predicted more than 20 million leisure trips by car will be made between Friday and bank holiday Monday.

The worst day to travel is likely to be Friday, as the start of the long weekend coincides with the beginning of half-term for many schools.

Transport analytics company Inrix warned that journeys on the M25 clockwise between Junction 7 for the M23 and Junction 21 for the M1 are expected to be delayed by more than 90 minutes in the late afternoon on Friday.

Two lanes closed on the M25 near Leatherhead

14:25 , Will Mata

Two of four lanes are closed on the M25 clockwise between J9 (Leatherhead) and J10 (M3) to a broken down car.

There is recovery en route.

There are delays of up to 45 minutes on approach and approximately five miles of congestion.

Overground now operating a good service

14:22 , Will Mata

London Overground had been part suspended on Friday but is now operating a good service.

Transport for London had said there were severe delays between Surrey Quays and Clapham Junction. But these have now cleared up.

‘There could be more traffic on the M20 this weekend’

13:43 , Will Mata

National Highways has warned motorists to allow more time if taking a trip this weekend in Kent.

With the contraflow in place, there could be more traffic on the M20, the agency said.

“Please allow extra time for your journey,” the tweet added.

One lane closed on M25 near Staines

13:17 , Will Mata

One lane is closed on the M25 anticlockwise due to a lorry having a tyre changed.

The motorway is affected just after J11 (A320 St Peters Way (Chertsey)).

There is congestion to J13 Staines, back past the M3. In lane one (of four).

Disruption between Surrey Quays and Clapham Junction expected until 2pm

12:55 , Sami Quadri

A fault on a train at Clapham High Street means that all lines are disrupted.

As a result, trains running between Surrey Quays and Clapham Junction may be cancelled or revised.

Disruption is expected to continue until 2pm.

Severe delays on London Overground

12:16 , Sami Quadri

There are severe delays on London Overground between Surrey Quays and Clapham Junction due to an earlier faulty train at Clapham High Street. All other routes have good service.

Vehicle strikes bridge at Waterloo, causing delays

11:25 , Will Mata

Trains are delayed in and out of London Waterloo after a vehicle struck a bridge.

The disruption is expected until 2pm.

All lines are open.

“Train services running to and from this station may be cancelled, delayed or revised,” National Rail said.

Routes affected are between London Waterloo and Windsor & Eton Riverside / Shepperton / Chessington South / Hampton Court / Alton / Guildford / Weybridge / Dorking / Reading / Basingstoke / Salisbury / Haslemere / Portsmouth & Southsea / Portsmouth Harbour / Weymouth / Exeter St Davids: and also London Waterloo circular services.

All lanes now open on Epping section of M25

10:20 , Will Mata

All lanes are now open on a section of the M25 that was partially closed after a crash.

Two lanes had been shut after a collision between a car and motorbike anticlockwise between J27 (M11/Epping) and J26 (Waltham Abbey).

Delays of less than 10 minutes remain in place.

Overground part suspended

10:11 , Will Mata

The Overground is part suspended on Friday, Transport for London has said.

As of 10.10am there is no service between Surrey Quays and Clapham Junction while a faulty train is fixed at Clapham High Street.

There is a good service on all other London Overground routes.

Crash causes delays on the M25

10:07 , Will Mata

A crash involving a car and motorbike on the M25 has shut two lanes of the motorway, causing long delays to motorists.

Queues are building along the anticlockwise stretch from junction 27 for the M11 and Epping and Junction 26 for Waltham Abbey.

Two hour delays on the A3

09:58 , Will Mata

National Highways has warned of two hour delays facing motorists on the A3.

There is approximately three miles of congestion as highways teams respond to TfL works going on in west London.

The agency tweeted that delays are being felt between the A244 junction at Esher and the A309 at Chessington.