Fourth crash into railway bridge in one month

A railway bridge in Birmingham has been hit by vehicles four times in just one month, causing disruption on the train line.

In the first week of January, three different lorries crashed into a bridge on Summer Road in Erdington, with two of the lorries crashing into the bridge on the same day.

On Monday, West Midlands Railway said another vehicle had collided with the same bridge.

This blocked the line between Birmingham New Street and Lichfield Trent Valley for several hours, with delays ongoing after the line reopened.

After the bridge was hit by three lorries in less than a week earlier this month, once on 3 January and twice on 7 January, Network Rail urged lorry drivers to "wise up, size up" to avoid similar incidents in future.

This includes knowing the height of vehicles, properly planning routes and not relying on sat-navs or apps to be up-to-date for bridges and height restrictions.

Speaking after the previous three crashes, Martin Colmey, operations director for Network Rail's central route, said: "There is no excuse for driving a lorry into a railway bridge.

"Our bridges are clearly marked, and lorry 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.

"We are looking into what might have caused this recent spate of bridge bashes but I plead with all drivers to know their vehicle restrictions and if in doubt about whether they can fit under a bridge to always use an alternative route."

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