Midlands home to most-bashed bridges
New figures show two local railway bridges have topped the list for the most bashed in Britain this year.
Data released by Network Rail shows the three most-struck rail bridges have been hit by vehicles 72 times in 2020.
This caused major disruption to road users and rail passengers, and a cost to the taxpayer of almost £300,000 in repairs and compensation payments.
The second most-struck bridge in Britain is the Bromford Road bridge, in Dudley, which saw the most rail passenger delays with almost 72 hours of disruption in total from 24 strikes.
The St John’s Street bridge, in Lichfield, is the third most-struck this year. It was hit 23 times in 12 months.
Network Rail has an ongoing ‘lorries can’t limbo’ campaign to raise awareness and drivers are being urged to ’wise up and size up’ and know the height restrictions of their vehicles at all times.
Martin Colmey, director of operations for Network Rail’s Central route, which is responsible for the bridges, said: “There is no excuse for drivers to be hitting railway bridges.
"Everyone has a responsibility to know their vehicle’s restrictions and all of our bridges are very clearly marked to show what the clearance is.
"To hit a bridge with all this information available is unprofessional and negligent."
