A potentially catastrophic bridge strike in Birmingham closed a city centre line on Wednesday, 7 January. Not once, but twice. That, in addition to a potentially fatal incident only four days earlier. Network Rail, the British infrastructure agency, has expressed extreme concern, despite a national awareness campaign.
Truck drivers are being urged to know the height of their vehicle after a Birmingham bridge was hit three times in less than a week. In one incident, a laden container truck overturned, crashing on to an active footpath. The Summer Road bridge, near Eddington Station in the north of the city centre, had to be closed multiple times for safety inspections.
Failure to stop has criminal consequences
The railway bridge on Summer Road, Erdington, was hit just before 10:00 on Wednesday (7 January). Within two hours of reopening, the bridge was hit again at 12:10. It remained closed until 13.45, badly disrupting the suburban commuter route between Birmingham New Street, Sutton Coalfield and Lichfield – the “Cross City” Line.
The incidents on Wednesday involved a vehicle that did not stop at the scene of the accident – potentially a criminal offence in the UK, and an even more serious accident just after noon. The second truck – a curtain sided HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) had its trailer roof ripped off.
High truck, low bridge: road-to-fail transfer
“There is no excuse for driving a lorry into a railway bridge,” said an obviously angry Martin Colmey, operations director for Network Rail’s Central Route. “Our bridges are clearly marked, and drivers should always know the height restrictions of their vehicles. To ignore both and bash a bridge, causing disruption to passengers and road users, is unforgivable.”
Britain continues to suffer from Bridge Bashing. There were 65 bridge strikes in the Birmingham region in the last year, delaying rail traffic for a combined six days of delays. West Midlands police will undoubtedly interview both the drivers involved in the two “bashes” that brought vehicles to a halt. The serious matter of the driver who failed to stop will be the subject of a police investigation.
Potentially fatal consequences
Bridge strikes are a source of considerable disruption on the UK network. However, the serious nature of the Summer Road strikes is apparent. The road narrows under the bridge, and has a footpath on both sides. In both the incidents pictured, those footpaths are compromised. Any pedestrians would be at risk of serious injury.
Birmingham has three intermodal rail terminals in the north of the city. It is not clear if the overturned truck was heading to any of those locations. The tractor unit appears to be licensed in the UK, suggesting that the driver may have been local. Perhaps they should have paid more attention to Network Rail’s Wise Up, Size Up campaign.