Disruption as lorries hit two Hinckley railway bridges on same day

Two railway bridges in Hinckley were struck by lorries just hours apart. The incidents happened on the A5 and in Rugby Road on Wednesday (April 26) which led to road and rail disruption[1] throughout the day. Emergency services were first alerted to an incident on the A5 shortly after 10am where a lorry had smashed into the Watling Road bridge.

The road was subsequently closed with motorists asked to find an alternative route. East Midlands Ambulance Service (Emas[2]) attended the scene but it was later confirmed that the driver was uninjured. The low bridge – previously labelled ‘Britain’s most-bashed’[3] – has been hit by lorries on countless occasions, in some cases, leaving vehicles stuck underneath.

The lorry did not get stuck this time, police said, but the road remained shut for several hours while an inspection of the bridge took place. Network Rail[4] was called to assess the situation and quickly established that the crash caused only minor, “superficial damage”. But it was not long before the rail firm was called to a second crash less than two miles away. Another heavy goods vehicle hit a bridge in Rugby Road at around 1pm.

Leicestershire Police confirmed it was not needed at the scene and the road remained open but the railway lines – used by services between Leicester and Birmingham – were abruptly shut. Cross Country was forced to cancel and delay a number of services while a second inspection took place. No injuries were reported and trains were running again[6] by 2.30pm.

Network Rail is urging drivers to be sure of the height of their vehicles. There were 1,833 bridge strikes reported across the entire network between April 2021 and March 2022. The rail firm added that there are, on average, five bridge-strike incidents daily.

References

1. ^ road and rail disruption (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
2. ^ Emas (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
3. ^ previously labelled ‘Britain’s most-bashed’ (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
4. ^ Network Rail (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
5. ^ Road where man died in crash set for spruce up – but there no firm plans to cut the speed limit yet (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
6. ^ trains were running again (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)