Staffordshire rail bridge named as second most-hit in Britain
St John's Street Bridge nearly tops the list of the 10 most-bashed bridges of the year
A bridge in Staffordshire has been named as the second most-bashed railway bridge in the UK last year.
St John's Street bridge in Lichfield, Staffordshire was hit 18 times in 12 months, Network Rail reported.
Network Rail also say there were a total of 1,624 bridge strikes across Britain in 2020/2021, costing over £5.5 million in delay and cancellation fees.
That number has decreased by 6% since the year before, but there were still at least four strikes on average a day.
Here are the railway bridges struck the most times in 2020/21:
- Coddenham Road bridge, Needham Market, Suffolk (19 strikes)
- St John's Street bridge, Lichfield, Staffordshire (18 strikes)
- Harlaxton Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire (16 strikes)
- Stuntney Road bridge, Ely, Cambridgeshire (15 strikes)
- Bromford Road bridge, Dudley, West Midlands (13 strikes)
- Watling Street bridge, Hinckley, Leicestershire (11 strikes)
- Warminster Road bridge, Wilton, Wiltshire (11 strikes)
- Ipswich Road bridge, Manningtree, Essex (10 strikes)
- Thames Street bridge, Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey (10 strikes)
- Lower Downs Road, Wimbledon, London (10 strikes)
"Wise Up, Size Up"
Network Rail say they're re-launching their "Wise Up, Size Up" campaign, encouraging lorry drivers to regularly check whether they can fit under bridges.
Sir Peter Hendy, Network Rail Chairman, said: "Bridge strikes cause unnecessary delays, costs and safety issues for road and rail users.
"To compound matters, they drain public funds which should be used on upgrading and improving our network.
"In recent years we've done a lot of work with partners across the industry to tackle this problem and whilst it's encouraging to see numbers on the decline, there's a lot more work to be done.
"With Black Friday and Christmas fast approaching, we urge professional operators and drivers to properly plan their routes, know the height of their vehicles and look out for road signs warning of oncoming bridges."
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