TRAVELLERS have been warned to expect disruption during Easter as improvement work gets underway on the West Coast line between Crewe and Warrington.

Improvement works on the West Coast line between Crewe and Warrington and between Carlisle and Glasgow will severely restrict Virgin services to northern England and Scotland.

Virgin is ‘strongly recommending’ that passengers do not travel between Good Friday and Easter Monday.

Manchester Victoria station will be closed from Good Friday to the end of Easter Monday and work is also underway over Easter between Manchester and Bolton, via Farnworth.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: "The real problem we face is a massive backlog on the rail maintenance and renewals side which leaves engineers trying to squeeze impossible targets into limited windows of opportunity.

"That problem has been compounded by cash-led cuts to staffing and schedules which RMT has warned repeatedly would leave services on a knife edge."

Traffic information company Inrix traffic analyst Greg Hallsworth has also warned those travelling on the roads to expect disruption.

He said: "On the one hand, increased traffic on the roads, railways and public transport signifies good news for the economy, with more people travelling and increasing numbers of goods being moved across the country.

"For those planning an Easter weekend getaway, our advice is to check before you travel.

"With rail closures, diversions and huge numbers of vehicles on the roads, many routes will be busier than usual."

The RAC said that as many as 16 million motorists were set to take to the roads over Easter.

It estimated that four million will be travelling on Good Friday and around 4.5 million will be on the road on Easter Sunday.

"The first spring bank holiday of the year traditionally heralds the start of busier weekends on the nation's roads," said RAC head of external affairs, Pete Williams.

He added: "This Easter is set to be a hectic one with 16 million of us getting behind the wheel for an Easter break, but at least we will benefit from the longer days and lighter evenings to complete our journeys."

The Highways Agency, which becomes Highways England on April 1, said more than 550 miles of roadworks will be lifted over Easter on England's motorways and major A roads.

The agency aims to complete or lift 209 sets of roadworks by Thursday, with the suspended works' restrictions lifted from 6am on Thursday until the end of Easter Monday.

However, for safety reasons lane restrictions or temporary speed limits will need to remain at 69 locations.

Immigration Minister James Brokenshire has advised travellers to set off in good time.

But he said he did not recognise the ‘extreme’ stories about how the changes could impact travellers and insisted there were contingency plans ready.

The AA said Thursday is likely to be the busiest day on the roads.

An AA/Populus survey of more than 16,000 AA members showed that 47% plan a drive of some kind on Thursday, with 44% likely to take to the roads on Good Friday.

According to Trafficmaster, the top five busiest stretches of road are likely to include be the M6 through West Midlands (from junction 4A) and northwards towards Lancashire (junction 21A).