A bad month for bridge strikes

COLLISIONS between HGV lorries and railway bridges over the past six weeks has started to reach worrying proportions, with a substantial rise in bridge strikes leading to train delays. As a result, Network Rail has pleaded with commercial vehicle drivers to take greater care.

In the first of two serious incidents in three days, August 30 saw aTesco lorry become wedged under a bridge for 24 hours at Ashford Hill, less than a mile east of Plymouth station, until it could be freed by a recovery company in conjunction with Network Rail bridge engineers. The plated height of the bridge was 10ft 9in (3.3metres).

Trying to exit the bridge, the lorry not only got