A bridge (crash) too far
RAIL FIRM BLASTS LORRY DRIVERS WHO DRIVE INTO LOW BRIDGES
NETWORK Rail has slammed the “entirely avoidable stupidity” of lorry drivers who continue to crash into or getting wedged under low railway bridges - because they don’t know the height of their own vehicles.
The group, which maintains rail infrastructure across the country, also said it would be doing everything in its power to reclaim the costs of such incidents from haulage firms.
The call was prompted by two bridge strikes in the west Midlands on Wednesday January 31 and two more on the following day including one in Long Drive near South Ruislip station.
Engineers were called to the scene shortly before 1pm and despite the crash only causing minor damage, requiring no repairs, the bridge was subject to road and restrictions for about an hour.
The bridge fared considerably better than the lorry though, which was pictured on Twitter in less than the best of shape following the collision.
And just two days earlier – Tuesday January 30 – , a lorry struck a narrow bridge in Culvert Road, Battersea , causing several hours of delays and disruption to trains heading in and out of London Waterloo, via Putney
Network Rail says the various crashes have caused unnecessary delays to motorists and rail passengers, despite clear warnings of low bridges and indications of any such bridge’s height - adding it is incumbent on drivers to know the height of their own vehicles.
“Network Rail today (Thursday) called for an end to the entirely avoidable stupidity of lorry drivers who crash into bridges because they don’t know the height of their vehicles,” it said in a statement. The lorry was barely intact after colliding with the bridge in Long Drive, South Ruislip
Mark Killick, chief operating officer for Network Rail’s London North Western route, said: “There’s no excuse for this.
“Lorry drivers should know their vehicle’s height and width – not guess and hope for the best.
“Despite being very clearly marked, these bridges were driven One of the numerous bridge strikes attended by Network Rail in recent days
into by irresponsible drivers causing unnecessary disruption to railway and road users.
“We will be doing all we can to reclaim the costs we incurred from the haulage companies responsible.”
The latest bridge bashes have come despite the “What the truck?”
campaign by Network Rail aimed at drivers of trucks and lorries to make sure they are aware of their vehicle’s dimensions.
Network Rail also moved to clarify that any such bridge strike requires it to dispatch structural engineers to assess the bridge before rail services can resume.