Railway bridges struck by road vehicles - merged topic, ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[LiskeardRich]

There are buses, and Botley Road buses. One is shorter than the other.

That's a bit dangerous, isn't it?

Not if correctly allocated and managed. I know of a double decker route with a 14’5 bridge. Multiple operators run double deckers underneath. Those operators have double deckers ranging from 13’10 to 14’10 in their fleets. There has been no incidents at that bridge!

[paul7575]

https://www.wiltshirelive.co.uk/news/wiltshire-news/a36-lorry-crash-live-wilton-7346662

That bridge in Wilton again today. That's at least the third time this year that it has been hit.

Ah, it takes a lot of scrolling down to understand what hit the bridge (Clue - It wasn't the tanker). I had been scratching my head trying to work out how the tanker in the first photo could have been too tall to do that, so assumed it must have been a side strike.

There’s a quote from a car driver that it was the corner of a container, and the truck then carried on through, then confirmed by the police via Network Rail that the truck driver failed to stop afterwards.

That reads to me as if the container was clear of the bridge if accurately centred between the vertical lines?

[Surrey 455]

From my South Western Railway email alerts here are a selection of recent messages:

On 2/8/22

We have been informed that a road vehicle has struck a bridge between Clandon and London Road (Guildford). Staff are en-route to examine the bridge. In the meantime, trains will remain at stand. 

We're sorry but we expect there may be cancellations, delays or alterations to services until 14:00.

On 3/8/22

We have been informed of a safety inspection of the track between Clandon and Guildford. This means that the line towards Guildford is currently blocked.

Until further notice, trains between London Waterloo and Guildford via Cobham will be terminated at/started from Effingham Junction. Trains from London Waterloo to Guildford via Leatherhead will be diverted via Woking.

We have requested rail replacement buses to run between Guildford and Leatherhead and these will be in place from 17:30.

On 8/8/22

We have been informed that a road vehicle has struck a bridge between London Road Guildford and Clandon. Staff are en-route to examine the bridge. In the meantime, trains will be unable to pass between these stations.

On 10/8/22

We have been informed that a road vehicle has struck a bridge between Clandon and Guildford. Staff are en-route to examine the bridge. In the meantime, trains are unable to run over the bridge so may be diverted or delayed.

Ok, so the alert on 3rd August may not relate to a bridge strike but do all the others this month relate to the same bridge? What is happening in this area?

Searching all my emails dating back to 2017 I see no other alerts for a bridge strike in that area.

[Clan Line]

Again !

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-63426714

[Bmblbzzz]

Wiltshire Police said the driver had been issued a traffic offence report for careless driving.

I don't remember reading a similar line before in these cases, but maybe it's routine and not reported.

[Hal]

Another one in Romsey yesterday. Nice pictures in the Hampshire Chronicle.

https://www.hampshirechronicle.co.uk/news/23099754.road-blocked-lorry-strikes-railway-bridge-romsey/

[Surrey 455]

Another one in Romsey yesterday. Nice pictures in the Hampshire Chronicle.

https://www.hampshirechronicle.co.uk/news/23099754.road-blocked-lorry-strikes-railway-bridge-romsey/

I'm sure it's ok but I get this message -

Website blocked due to fraud
Website blocked: www.hampshirechronicle.co.uk

Malwarebytes Browser Guard blocked this website because it may contain malware activity.
We strongly recommend you do not continue.

[bradshaw]

Bad one near Ketton this morning, a skip lorry really damaging a bridge which was only 13 ft clearance. Freight route but diversions planned fir tomorrow.
Some recent images here
https://twitter.com/staplefordtrain/status/1588848669310484483?s=61&t=jeNqiQddLzi03VAaQXLrgw

[Hal]

Another one in Romsey yesterday. Nice pictures in the Hampshire Chronicle.

https://www.hampshirechronicle.co.uk/news/23099754.road-blocked-lorry-strikes-railway-bridge-romsey/

The same newspaper says today that this bridge has been struck by lorries 23 times in 18 years.

[bradshaw]

NR^» (Network Rail - home page) saying route to be closed for two weeks while repairs are undertaken

https://twitter.com/networkrailem/status/1589277421714300929?s=61&t=ahWXq3MuydkpeciDOnAyNg
From Sir Peter Hendy on Twitter

   Just to confirm - we report every one of these to the Traffic Commissioners, who consider the suitability of the Operator and driver to continue to hold their vocational licences; and we claim for damage and delay from the operator.

https://twitter.com/sirpeterhendy/status/1588903125749882880?s=61&t=ahWXq3MuydkpeciDOnAyNg

[Clan Line]

Bridge 1 Bus 0 !

https://www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/news/23119329.salisbury-reds-bus-crash-sees-side-ripped-off/?ref=rss

[CyclingSid]

The most-bashed bridge, at 33 times in the last 12 months

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-63636260

and

https://www.networkrail.co.uk/stories/most-bashed-bridge-in-britain-revealed/

although the figures don't seem to add up.

Station Road in Langley, Berkshire gets an honourable mention with only 12 strikes.

[Surrey 455]

It's not just buses and lorries that have been hitting bridges.

The Google Streetview car has as well.

From https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/people-left-stitches-after-spotting-28525412

The team at Google Maps are constantly on the road taking photos of the world to keep their Street View service up to date. But despite their 15 years of experience, they still manage to make an embarrassing blunder from time to time. While venturing around Grants Road, in Newry, Northern Ireland, the Google Maps Street View car got into a spot of bother after driving under a bridge.

It seems the driver forgot just how tall its camera stands as it was knocked off part way through the bridge. A hilarious series of Street View snaps show the driver entering the bridge, a blurry shot of the camera colliding with its roof, and then the back of the car as the camera presumably hangs down out of place.

[ChrisB]

S that a railway bridge though?

[grahame]

S that a railway bridge though?

An educated guess - does the main Belfast to Dublin railway run over the top of it?