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Tuesday 3 Apr 2018

Paddington Station 24/7 continues: Langley bridge hit by two vehicles in an hour

Region & Route:

Wales & Western: Western

| Wales & Western

The second series of the behind the scenes documentary Paddington Station 24/7 continues on Monday 2 April when episode two airs at 9pm on Channel 5.

The eight-part first series achieved a consistently high audience share for the Monday 9pm slot, averaging 1.3 million viewers per episode. The series follows railway workers on the Great Western Mainline as they deal with the biggest modernisation of the line for generations, major incidents which are causing disruption on the railway, huge sporting events, as well as the day-to-day challenge of running one of Britain’s busiest stations.

This week, Mobile Operations Manager Mark Rowley is called to two bridge strikes, each occurring within minutes of each other at Langley bridge, an important structure on the route between Paddington and Oxford. Although vehicles hitting bridges is a fairly common occurrence, attending two incidents within minutes of each other at the same place is unusual for Mobile Operations Manager Mark Rowley.

Bridge strikes can cause significant delays to the route and result in serious damage to the structure. When acting as Bridge Strike Nominee we have a professional duty to keep the railway safe. On the day of the Langley bridge strikes, I was called to attend the scene and access any damage to the bridge and determine if it was safe to run trains.

On this occasion the protection beams protecting the operational railway stood strong causing no lasting damage to the bridge or tracks, and only damage to the vehicle involved with the second strike. Once satisfied that there had been no impact to the railway, the Signaller was advised that it was safe for the passage of trains.

Mark Rowley, Mobile Operations Manager, Network Rail

The second episode of Paddington Station 24/7 will be aired on Monday 2 April on Channel 5 at 9pm, with each subsequent episode shown on Monday evenings at the same time.