Network Rail make plea as two more train bridges hit by trucks

The plea came after two ‘bridge strike’ incidents in the West Midlands on Wednesday, which caused hours of delays to train customers and motorists.

In the first incident shortly after midday yesterday, the lorry driver was lucky to escape unscathed after he smashed into the bridge on Summer Road in Erdington, before overturning.

Trains on the Cross City Line north, between Birmingham New Street and Lichfield, Staffordshire, were disrupted for hours and local roads well into the evening.

Trains on the route were further impacted when another lorry crashed into railway bridge on St John's Street, Lichfield, just after 5.30pm. This bridge was struck 13 times in 2016/17.

Mark Killick, chief operating officer for Network Rail's London North Western route, said: “There’s no excuse for this. Lorry drivers should know their vehicle's height and width - not guess and hope for the best.

"Despite being very clearly marked, these bridges were driven into by irresponsible drivers causing unnecessary disruption to railway and road-users. We will be doing all we can to reclaim the costs we incurred from the haulage companies responsible.”

When a lorry ‘bridge strike’ occurs, Network Rail’s structural engineers always need to check the bridge is safe before train services can resume.

The latest bridge strikes come despite Network Rail’s recently launched ‘What the Truck’ campaign, aimed at getting lorry drivers to know their vehicles’ heights and choose road routes accordingly.

Network Rail said research has found that 43 per cent of lorry drivers admit to not knowing the size of their vehicle; 52 per cent of drivers admit to not taking low bridges into account when planning their journeys; five bridge strikes happen across the country everyday – with a peak of 10 per day in October and on average, each bridge strike costs £13,500 and causes two hours of delays to train services.

Bosses at haulage firm Eddie Stobart have backed Network Rail's campaign to get drivers to be more aware of the size of their vehicles.

David Pickering, chief operating officer, said at the launch of What the Truck : "As well as carefully planning routes to avoid low bridges, we carry out manual vehicle checks at the beginning of every journey which requires the driver to adjust the trailer height on a measurement in the cab.

"Additionally, we are installing software early next year which will warn drivers with an audible alarm when they are approaching a bridge. We have also tried some quirky ways of engaging drivers in the issue including our giant giraffe ‘Bridget’ in our Training Academy which serves as a constant reminder to our drivers of why they need to be bridge aware."