Wilton railway bridge among Britain's 'most bashed'

Network Rail's released a rundown of the bridges they've seen hit by vehicles most often in the past year - and it won't come as a surprise to see the Warminster Road bridge in Wilton up there.

With 10 strikes in 2019/20, it's come in 12th place of all the bridges in the country.

A bridge in Hinckley in Leicestershire came top with 25 strikes in the last year.

Railway bridge strikes cause huge problems for the network, as trains aren't able to run over sites where the structure needs to be checked over for safety.

Almost half a million minutes of delays to rail journeys were caused by this across Britain every day last year.

But there has been an 11% decrease in bridge strikes in the last year.

WISE UP, SIZE UP

The figures have been released as Network Rail and other industry bodies join forces for a campaign, calling on drivers and operators of large vehicles to be more aware of their height and size before setting off on journeys.

It's also being launched now as there tends to be a seasonal increase in bridge strikes between Black Friday and Christmas, with more lorries on the roads carrying out deliveries.

Sir Peter Hendy CBE, chair of Network Rail said:

"We've done a lot of work with partners across the industry in recent years to tackle bridge strikes, and whilst it's encouraging to see our work is paying off with numbers now on the decline, there's a lot more to be done to cut the unnecessary delays, costs and safety risks they pose."

A letter's been sent out to all goods vehicle and Public Service Vehicle (PSV) operator licence holders, warning that there's a possibility that they could lose their licence if they fail to take appropriate measures to prevent bridge strikes.

The letter says operators should:

• Assess the risks and ensure that routes are planned in advance, so far as is reasonably practicable

• Ensure that drivers, transport managers and planners are properly trained to enable them to assess the risks

• Provide drivers with adequate information including about the vehicles which they are driving, like height conversion charts and gauges

• Check each vehicle and trailer in the fleet has an established running height on its technical record

• Ensure running heights are available to anyone planning a route including drivers who encounter unexpected or unmapped obstructions, such as temporary works

Gareth Llewellyn, DVSA chief executive said:

"There's real headway being made and we're seeing a drop in bridge strikes, but we must keep up this momentum to avoid these dangerous and costly incidents.

"You should ensure your drivers are doing their walkaround checks and noting the height of their vehicle every day.

"While DVSA can fall back on regulatory action to deal with bridge strikes, I'd prefer to see no incidents at all, with operators and drivers checking heights before every journey."