Thursday 24 Oct 2019
Lorry wedged on railway bridge for five hours causes delays to passengers
- Region & Route:
- North West & Central
A lorry has caused delays to rail passengers and road users after hitting and getting stuck on a railway bridge in Lancashire.
The vehicle was wedged for more than five hours over the West Coast main line on Burrow Road near Galgate.
After the collision was reported to Network Rail at 8.30am, the railway was closed because debris from the damaged bridge fell onto the tracks below.
The line was quickly reopened but with a precautionary 5mph speed limit in place for trains.
Shortly after 1.45pm the lorry was freed allowing Network Rail engineers to assess the extent of the damage. The speed limit for trains was lifted after 3pm.
Passengers are advised to check their journeys at www.nationrail.co.uk while services return to normal after the disruption.
Burrow Road will stay closed for the next several days while plans are made to repair the damaged bridge.
Darren Miller, Network Rail infrastructure maintenance delivery manager, said: “We always urge all drivers to know the length and height of their vehicles when it comes to either crossing over or driving under any of our bridges.
“Bridge strikes like this are entirely avoidable. When they do happen it potentially puts passengers at risk and causes huge disruption to journeys.
“We’re doing everything we can to organise a full repair of the bridge and reopen Burrow Road as quickly as possible.”
On average five entirely avoidable railway bridge strikes take place every day across Britain, costing the taxpayer £23 million a year.
Research shows 43 per cent of lorry drivers admit to not measuring their vehicle before heading out on the road. Fifty-two per cent admit to not taking low bridges into account.
To combat this, Network Rail has launched its 'Lorries can't limbo' campaign aimed at professional HGV drivers and others who drive high-sided vehicles.
It includes online training and guidance in several languages to help drivers and logistics companies plan their routes to avoid bridge strikes.
To learn more about the campaign visit: www.networkrail.co.uk/wise-up-size-up
Contact information
Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41
Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries
Journalists
Network Rail press office - North West & Central Region
07740 782954
NWCmediarelations@networkrail.co.uk
About Network Rail
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Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.
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