Hinckley railway bridge sits in top ten of Network Rail’s most bashed bridges

Watling Bridge in Hinckley sits at number four of the list of Network Rail’s most frequently hit bridges.

New figures released by Network Rail reveal Watling Bridge was struck 15 times in the last year, up from 12 the year before.

The new figures come as Network Rail urges haulage operators and their lorry drivers to ‘Wise Up, Size Up’ and take better care on the roads.

Network Rail works closely with industry partners to tackle bridge strikes. Its ongoing ‘Wise Up, Size Up’ campaign reminds lorry 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 covering each route across Britain, who raise awareness by visiting local haulage companies. This is proving effective in many parts of the country with a reduction in the total number of incidents recorded on the network over the last two years, including a 4% reduction in the last year alone.

Lei Wang, principal route engineer for West Coast South, said: “The number of collisions with Watling Street Bridge remains a concern, there have been 68 incidents since 2019. To prevent delays on the railway when hit, we have collision protection beams in place. This means the beams get hit instead of the bridge itself.  Although this has meant less disruption to passengers, the number is still too high so I want to urge drivers to know the size of their vehicle and take more care when approaching the bridge.”

I don't understand why there isn't a gantry before these bridges with something dangling on a rope that would hit the top of the vehicle alerting the driver before they hit the bridge.