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Wednesday 20 Nov 2024

Bridge bashes hit passengers with over 100 days in rail delays

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National

• More than 1,532 bridges were struck by heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) in 2023/24 – one every six hours
• Stuntney Road in Ely takes top spot as Britain’s most bashed bridge
• 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. Stuntney Road, Ely, has the unflattering title of ‘Britain’s most bashed bridge’ as part of Network Rail’s annual compilation of big hitters – with 18 recorded incidents over the past year. Next up is Stonea Road, Stonea and Lower Downs Road, Wimbledon with 17 incidents apiece.

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.

Improvements have been identified on a local level too. Whilst Stonea is second on the list of recorded incidents for 2023/24, it saw a 11%reduction in bridge strikes last year compared to the year before. The location also saw a 65% reduction in delay minutes for rail passengers last year as a result of bridge strike incidents – 35 delay minutes in 2023/24 compared to 100 delay minutes in 2022/23.

In February 2021 Network Rail’s engineers worked on a repair on the Cambridgeshire bridge that involved the installation of a new protection beam, designed to withstand future bridge strikes, making it stronger than before. This extra protection helps to minimise disruption to rail and road traffic in the event of future strikes. To coincide with this work Cambridgeshire County Council updated the road signage with its new height of 2 metres - 10cm lower than before, owing to the new protection beam.

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.”

Hideo Takano, senior structures advisor at National Highways, said: “Although bridge strike incidents are comparatively fewer on our roads, they can cause hours of disruption, and we recognise the frustration these delays can cause. We work with other transport authorities in the Bridge Strike Prevention Group as part of the collective drive to reduce bridge strikes and welcome Network Rail highlighting this issue during Road Safety Awareness Week.

"Around two-thirds of bridge strikes on our roads are caused by vehicles carrying a load on an open trailer. Therefore, to reduce the risk of these incidents, we urge drivers to follow these simple steps; know your height, plan your route, and secure your load."