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Tuesday 22 Dec 2020

Renewed appeals to drivers of tall vehicles to take care after December spike in Kent and South East London bridge bashes

Region & Route:

Southern: Kent

| Southern

The first half of December has seen bridge strikes in Kent and South East London occurring at nearly double the average rate, leading to renewed calls for drivers to know the heights of their vehicles.

Railway bridges in the county were hit at least 11 times over the first half of December, with incidents recorded at Chestfield, Headcorn, Herne Hill, Kent House, Rochester, Swalecliffe, Orpington, Petts Wood, Sole Street and West Malling.

December has seen almost double the average monthly number of bridge strikes in the county occurring and the rise in incidents reflects the highest number of strikes in the last 5 years.  

The incident at Herne Hill cost nearly a thousand delay minutes to passengers, and the Orpington incident costing 303. The sudden rise is a cause for concern among those managing the Kent Route on behalf of passengers and freight.

Bridge strikes are costly to the network, not just in financial terms, but the costs in delays to passengers and freight.

Nationally, almost six out of ten (59%) of the incidents are caused by HGV drivers, and Network Rail is reminding drivers they can face tough penalties including removing a person’s public service vehicle (PSV) licence.

Automatic camera alert systems have been installed on 6 bridges in Kent to monitor them for movement, as with some  bridge strikes not reported, it is imperative to make sure the bridges remain safe.

Daniel Matthews, Head of Operations for Kent, said: “The early part of December has seen a concerning increase in the rate of bridge strikes on our network. 

"There is no excuse to not know the height of your vehicle before starting your journey.

“As well as putting lives in danger on both road and rail and causing lengthy delays for passengers and road users, drivers who chance it at bridges are at risk of leaving their employers with a hefty bill for repairs and train delay costs, along with a strong threat to their own operator licence.”

Scott Brightwell, Train Services Director for Southeastern, said:

“Bridge strikes cost train passengers and road users alike far too much time and money, and we can’t be clearer about our message to drivers of lorries and buses: check the height of your vehicle!  Not only will oversized vehicles be extensively damaged, but they can cause huge disruption and embarrassment to say the least.”

To try and combat the number of bridge strikes, adverts are being placed at motorway service station petrol pumps across the country reminding drivers to “Wise Up, Size Up” as “Lorries Can’t Limbo” and drivers should know their vehicle height before they start their journey and to check their route for low bridges.