This article is about a former traffic information channel in England. For traffic information radio in general, see Highway advisory radio

Highway advisory radio

Travelers Information Radio Stations , are sometimes also called Highway Advisory Radio Stations by Departments of Transportation in the United States. These radio stations are licensed low-power AM radio stations set up by local transport departments to provide bulletins to motorists and other...

.

Traffic Radio was a digital radio station based in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

It was a 24 hour rolling traffic and travel

Traffic reporting

Traffic reporting is the distribution of information about road conditions such as traffic congestion, detours, and traffic accidents, generally as part of a radio or television broadcast program. The reports help commuters anticipate and avoid traffic problems. Many reports mention alternate...

 service for motorways and major roads in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, run for the Highways Agency

Highways Agency

The Highways Agency is an executive agency, part of the Department for Transport in England. It has responsibility for managing the core road network in England...

 by Global Traffic Network

Global Traffic Network

Global Traffic Network is a helicopter traffic reporting service that provides reports to radio and television stations across the United States and Canada...

.

Traffic Radio could be heard on DAB digital radio, 1386AM (National Exhibition Centre

National Exhibition Centre

The National Exhibition Centre is an exhibition centre in Birmingham, England. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham International Airport and Birmingham International railway station. It has 20 interconnected halls, set in grounds of 628 acres making it the...

, Birmingham only) and via the internet. It was available 24 hours a day, every day of the year and was updated every 10 minutes at busy times. It offered regional traffic news, depending on which part of the country people are listening, as well as national headlines. The information came from the National Traffic Control Centre, which has access to over 1,000 CCTV cameras and 3,750 road sensors, as well as information from the Highways Agency

Highways Agency

The Highways Agency is an executive agency, part of the Department for Transport in England. It has responsibility for managing the core road network in England...

's seven regional control centres.

Traffic Radio was not designed as a competitor to local radio stations in the UK, many of whom provide travel information. It was a continuous spoken information service meaning people can quickly switch on for the latest traffic information before switching back to whichever station they were listening to.

Traffic Radio was broadcast in six regional variants: This was a list of those variants and the DAB multiplexes on which they broadcast:

• West & Southwest (code C0D1) - Bath & West Wiltshire, Bournemouth, Bristol & Bath, Cornwall, Exeter & Torbay, Plymouth, Swindon
• South & East (code C1D1) - Cambridge, Kent, Norwich, Reading, Southend & Chelmsford, South Hampshire, Sussex Coast
• Midlands (code C2D1) - Birmingham, Coventry, Leicester, Nottingham, Peterborough, Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton/Shrewsbury/Telford
• Yorkshire/Northeast (code C3D1) - Bradford & Huddersfield, Humberside, Leeds, South Yorkshire, Teesside, Tyneside
• Northwest (code C4D1) - Central Lancashire, Liverpool, Manchester
• London (code C5D1) - London

(London took the South & East version before subsequently switching to its own dedicated version operated with the assistance of Transport for London

Transport for London

Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...

)

The station closed at 3pm on 31st August 2011 after the project was axed following the government spending review. Barry Lewis was the last Southeast and London reporter, Simon Temby was the last North West reporter and Andrew Bassett the last North East reporter.