This Christmas, it's not just the turkey that's stuffed to capacity. The roads, trains and buses will be jam-packed with travellers. The causes of congestion are numerous: bad weather, accidents, last-minute shoppers or tourists, but the underlying reality is that the UK's infrastructure is struggling to cope with demand.
It's never nice to find out that a household bill has gone up, but for many rail commuters finding out just before Christmas that their season ticket will cost hundreds of pounds more next year is all the more galling. The average wage is certainly not going up, the rising cost of living is hitting many families hard and the increase in rail fares will do nothing to help.