The top ten most bashed railway bridges across Anglia and East London are to be fitted with a new CCTV system to reduce delays and cancellation to train services, all part of a £190k investment.
The new cameras will be installed by Network Rail and capture images from the bridge deck, which will allow for a faster examination if and when a bridge strike occurs.
Engineers can then examine the footage and damage it has caused, which is useful if the suspect has driven away. The footage allows for a quicker assessment of the damage so that the trains can begin running again.
Most of the vehicles that hit railway bridges are HGVs or buses, and can cost around £13,000 per strike, and costs the taxpayer £23 million a year.
The system will be fitted at these bridges:
- Hockley
- Wickford
- Needham Market (x2)
- Ely (x2)
- Norwich (Trowse)
- Camden
- Romford
- Clapton
Ellie Burrows, Network Rail‘s route director for Anglia, said: “Bridge strikes are a significant safety risk and cause widespread disruption and delays for passengers. While this new system will reduce delays, I can’t stress enough how important it is for drivers to know the height of their vehicle and plan ahead to prevent these serious incidents happening in the first place.
“Drivers who chance it at bridges are at risk of losing their licenses and leaving their employers with a hefty bill for repairs and train delay costs, along with a strong threat to their own operators licence.”
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Responses
This is why that drivers driving heavy goods vehicles should be prosecuted or fined. Or the companies who allows the drivers to drive lorries should be prosecuted because of bridge strikes and the damages it has caused. Too many bridge strikes are happening too often. Across the UK.
But that’s always a problem in larger cities including London as there are low bridges in and around London and even double decker buses have struck low bridges where there are height signs that shows that larger and taller vehicles cannot pass underneath.
But small vehicles like ambulances, firefighter trucks, police cars, cars, vans, single decker low floor buses, taxis and bikes can pass underneath without no problem.
What about installing one at the low bridge at Pitsea. That has seen bridge strikes many times. As well installing these cameras on the A129 Southend Road in Rayleigh.