Campaign rolled out after Network Rail claims lorries strike bridges every six hours

Network Rail said that in total, 1,532 bridges were hit by lorries between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024 – one every six hours.

And Stuntney Road bridge in Ely took the dubious title of most bashed bridge during the period.

The collisions caused over 100 days of delays for rail passengers across the country and cost the rail industry £20m in delays, cancellations and repairs.

Network Rail is now urging haulage operators and their drivers to check the height of their vehicles and plan their route in advance to avoid low bridges as part of its ongoing ‘wise up, size up’ campaign.

It said it also relied on a team of bridge strike champions covering each route across Britain, who raise awareness by visiting local haulage companies.

The last two consecutive years have seen a reduction in the number of incidents recorded on the network, with a 4% reduction in the last year.

Others bridges regularly struck include Stonea Road, Stonea and Lower Downs Road, Wimbledon with 17 incidents apiece.

However, there have also been improvements, with Stonea seeing an 11% reduction in bridge strikes compared to the previous year.

In February 2021 Network Rail’s engineers worked on a repair on the Cambridgeshire bridge that involved the installation of a new protection beam, designed to withstand future bridge strikes, making it stronger than before.

To coincide with this work Cambridgeshire County Council also updated the road signage with its new height of 2 metres - 10cm lower than before, owing to the new protection beam.

Martin Frobisher, Network Rail’s group safety and engineering director, said: “Every time a vehicle hits a bridge it can cause serious safety issues for road and rail users. To compound matters, these incidents can delay tens of thousands of passengers while we inspect the bridge and repair any damage – creating cost from public funds which should be used for upgrading and improving our network.

“We’ve done a lot of work with transport partners to tackle bridge strikes and it’s encouraging to see this is paying off with a general downward trend in the number of incidents.

“But with a strike every six hours there’s still much to do and we urge operators and drivers to properly plan their routes, know the height of their vehicles and be vigilant for road signs showing the height of bridges.

“We will report those who don’t to the traffic commissioners - and Network Rail always looks to recover the entire repair and delay costs from the driver and the operator.”

Last month, senior traffic commissioner Richard Turfitt said he was making advice about avoiding bridge strikes available to all operators on the TC’s website as it remained a serious industry issue.

The most struck railway bridges in Britain 2023/24:

1. Stuntney Road, Ely - 18 strikes

2. Stonea Road, Stonea - 17 strikes

3. Lower Downs Road, Wimbledon - 17 strikes

4. Watling Street A5, Hinckley - 15 strikes

5. Harlaxton Road, Grantham - 14 strikes

6. Doncaster Road (A638), Ackworth, Ferrybridge - 13 strikes

7. Warminster Road Bridge, Wilton - 11 strikes

8. Abbey Farm, Thetford - 11 strikes

9. Kenworthy Road Bridge, Homerton - 11 strikes

10. Jews Lane, Twerton - 10 strikes