West Midlands drivers urged to ‘Wise Up, Size Up’ as most bashed bridges revealed
Bridge bashes in the West Midlands delayed rail passengers by nearly 9,000 minutes over a 12-month period, newly released figures reveal.
There were 65 bridge bashes across the West Midlands between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024, contributing to 8,838 minutes of delays for rail passengers – more than six days in total. Nationally, the figures released by Network Rail reveal heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) collided with bridges on 1,532 occasions causing over 100 days (150,000 minutes) of delays for passengers costing the industry and taxpayers around £20m in delays, cancellations and repairs.
The top three bridge strike locations across the West Midlands were Cradley Road in Cradley Heath, Station Road near Berkswell station, and Birmingham Road in Warwick which racked up a total of 10 incidents between them. Martin Colmey, Network Rail’s Central route operations director, said: “Every time a vehicle hits a bridge, not only can it cause delays to tens of thousands of passengers, but it can also cause serious safety issues for road and rail users.
“Working with partners we’ve made some really positive improvements across the West Midlands but there’s still more work to do to decrease the number of incidents further. I’d urge drivers to properly plan their routes, know the height of their vehicles, never rely on sat navs or apps to be up-to-date, and always look out for road signs showing the height restrictions for bridges.”
To reduce the number of incidents and the delays caused, Network Rail’s ‘Wise Up, Size Up’ campaign targets haulage companies and drivers and urges them to take better care on the roads. The ongoing ‘Wise Up, Size Up’ campaign reminds drivers to check the height of their vehicles and plan their route in advance to avoid low bridges.
Network Rail also has a team of bridge strike ‘champions’ which raise awareness across the rail network. Improvements have been made across the West Midlands. Network Rail’s Central route, which covers the region, has set up a ‘bridge strike working group’, made up of representatives from Network Rail and key partners.
Formed in June 2020 in response to a spike in bridge strike incidents, which saw 107 recorded incidents causing over 11 days (16,355 minutes) of delays for passengers in 2019/20, it has helped to reduce the number of incidents and disruption caused.
Most struck railway bridges across the West Midlands 2023/24:
1. Cradley road, Cradley Heath, West Midlands – 4 strikes
2. Station Road, Berkswell, West Midlands – 4 strikes
3. Birmingham Road, Warwick –2 strikes
Most struck railway bridges in Britain 2023/24:
1. Stuntney Road, Ely - 18 strikes
2. Stonea Road, Stonea - 17 strikes
3. Lower Downs Road, Wimbledon - 17 strikes
4. Watling Street A5, Hinckley - 15 strikes
5. Harlaxton Road, Grantham - 14 strikes
6. Doncaster Road (A638), Ackworth, Ferrybridge - 13 strikes
7. Warminster Road Bridge, Wilton - 11 strikes
8. Abbey Farm, Thetford - 11 strikes
9. Kenworthy Road Bridge, Homerton - 11 strikes
10. Jews Lane, Twerton - 10 strikes
Bridge strikes reported across the railway network in the last five financial years:
Year 2019/20 – 1,825 strikes
Year 2020/21 – 1,650 strikes
Year 2021/22 – 1,864 strikes
Year 2022/23 – 1,588 strikes
Year 2023/24 – 1,532 strikes