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Wednesday 20 Nov 2024

Bath bridge makes list of top ten ‘most bashed bridges’ in the UK

Region & Route:

Wales & Western: Western

| Wales & Western

• New figures released by Network Rail show that a bridge in Twerton, a suburb of Bath, was the tenth most-struck bridge in the UK over the past year.
• The bridge was struck 10 times, resulting in over 12 hours of disruption caused by the collisions.  Bridge strikes at the location were up by over 300% on the previous year, when vehicles struck the bridge a total of three times.
• Network Rail urges lorry drivers to ‘Wise Up, Size Up’ by knowing the height of their vehicles and choosing suitable routes before they head out on journeys.

New figures released by Network Rail reveal heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) colliding with bridges caused over 100 days (150,000 minutes) of delays for rail passengers last year. From 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 there were 1,532 reported bridge strikes - one every six hours - which cost Britain’s rail industry around £20m in delays, cancellations and repairs.

The new figures come as Network Rail urges haulage operators and their lorry drivers to ‘Wise Up, Size Up’ and take better care on the roads.

Delays, cancellations and repairs caused by vehicles hitting the Jews Lane bridge in Twerton, Bath, resulted in costs of almost £93,000 – the highest of any of the bridges appearing in the top 10 this year. Other bridges found on Network Rail’s Western route that had featured in last year’s top 10 dropped down the rankings, with the bridge at Brettle Road in Burnham – last year’s number nine – coming in at number 20 after seeing fewer strikes.

Network Rail works closely with industry partners to tackle bridge strikes. Its ongoing ‘Wise Up, Size Up’ campaign reminds lorry drivers to check the height of their vehicles and plan their route in advance to avoid low bridges. Network Rail also has a team of bridge strike champions covering each route across Britain, who raise awareness by visiting local haulage companies. The last two consecutive years has seen a reduction in the total number of incidents recorded on the network, with a 4% reduction in the last year alone.

Martin Frobisher, Network Rail’s group safety and engineering director, said: “Every time a vehicle hits a bridge it can serious safety issues for road and rail users. To compound matters, these incidents can delay tens of thousands of passengers while we inspect the bridge and repair any damage – creating cost from public funds which should be used upgrading and improving our network.

“We’ve done a lot of work with transport partners to tackle bridge strikes and it’s encouraging to see this is paying off with a general downward trend in the number of incidents. But with a strike every six hours there’s still much to do and we urge operators and drivers to properly plan their routes, know the height of their vehicles and be vigilant for road signs showing the height of bridges. We will report those who don’t to the Traffic Commissioners and Network Rail always looks to recover the entire repair and delay costs from the driver and the operator.”