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Tuesday 7 Jan 2025

Drivers urged to ‘wise up, size up’ after bridge bashed twice in one day

Region & Route:

North West & Central

| North West & Central: Central

Lorry drivers are being urged to know the height of their vehicle after a Birmingham bridge was hit three times in less than a week.

The railway bridge on Summer Lane, Erdington, was hit just before 10am today (7 January). After being inspected and given the green light to safely reopen, it was then bashed for a second time at 12.10pm, reopening again at 1.45pm. 

The first lorry did not stop but the second (pictured) had its trailer roof ripped off which was left hanging over the road, causing disruption to local people and motorists.

The same bridge was also hit on 3 January. All three incidents caused delay and disruption to passengers on the Cross City line between Birmingham New Street and Lichfield Trent Valley.

Network Rail is once again pleading for all lorry drivers to ‘wise up, size up’ to avoid similar incidents in future. This includes knowing the height of vehicles, properly planning routes and never relying on sat-navs or map apps to be up-to-date for bridges and height restrictions.

Martin Colmey, operations director for Network Rail’s Central route, said: “There is no excuse for driving a lorry into a railway bridge. Our bridges are clearly marked, and lorry drivers should always know the height restrictions of their vehicles. To ignore both and bash a bridge, causing disruption to passengers and road users, is unforgivable.

“We are looking into what might have caused this recent spate of bridge bashes but I plead with all drivers to know their vehicle restrictions and if in doubt about whether they can fit under a bridge to always use an alternative route.”

The most recent statistics showed there were a total of 65 bridge bashes across the West Midlands between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024, contributing to 8,838 minutes of delays for rail passengers – more than six days in total.

The top three bridge strike locations across the West Midlands were Cradley Road in Cradley Heath, Station Road near Berkswell station, and Birmingham Road in Warwick which racked up a total of 10 incidents between them.

More information on how to ‘wise up, size up’ and avoid bridge bashes can be found at Wise Up, Size Up - Network Rail.