Child taken to hospital after bus crashes into bridge

A GIRL aged 11 was taken to hospital after a school bus crashed into a Cardiff railway bridge.

The double decker bus, run by the New Adventure Travel Group, collided with the bridge at Heath High Level at around 9am yesterday.

Pictures from the scene show damage to the front of the bus and to part of the bridge on Heath Halt Road.

Police said there were around 40 pupils on board when the collision happened and that a girl aged 11 who was sitting on the top deck suffered “minor injuries.”

Train services between Cardiff’s Queen Street and Llanishen were suspended for a time as the bridge was inspected.

The Welsh Ambulance Trust confirmed one person was taken to hospital.

A Network Rail spokeswoman said: “A vehicle struck a rail bridge near Heath High Level station.

“Safety is a key priority, and trains were unable to run over the bridge until it had been inspected and our engineers had confirmed it was safe.

“We worked closely with our partners Arriva Trains Wales to get passengers moving again once the line re-opened.

“Bridge strikes cost the taxpayer millions of pounds and delay thousands of passengers every year, so we’d like to remind drivers to check the height of their vehicles before passing under any bridges.”

An Arriva Trains Wales spokesman said: “Owing to a vehicle colliding with a railway bridge at Heath High Level station at 9am, services between Rhymney and Penarth have been disrupted this morning.

“We have worked closely with our partners in Network Rail to minimise disruption and the line was re-opened at around 9.33am, although there is expected to be some knock on effects of the disruption and we thank customers for their patience.”

An investigation into the cause of the crash is now under way.

A spokesman for NAT said: “At this point we can only confirm we are aware of the incident and it’s currently under investigation.”