The number of bridge strikes reported at our bridges carrying the railway over roads (underline) in the year ending 31 March 2011 was 1593. This increase (10.7%) reverses the decreasing trend observed in the two previous years.
The number of reported strikes at bridges carrying a road over the railway (overline) decreased 13.3% to 98.
Each bridge strike, whether the railway passes over a road or the road crosses the railway, is a risk to the safety of train passengers and railway workers, damages bridges, and may cause significant delays to train services.
Bridge strikes can result in the death or serious injury of the driver or passengers of the vehicle involved, as well as other innocent road users. Bridge strikes are financially costly to the vehicle owner as well as the railway.
A bridge strike can cause significant delays to the road user and disruption to the community.
Reporting a bridge strike
Should a bridge strike occur, it should be immediately reported to Network Rail using the telephone number on the identification plate. If no plate is provided the strike should be reported to the Police using 999.
Reported bridge strikes at our bridges
The number of bridge strikes in the years 1 April to 31 March since 2000 are shown in the table below
| Year |
Underline bridges |
Overline bridges |
| 2000/01 |
1613 |
111 |
| 2001/02 |
1678 |
100 |
| 2002/03 |
1914 |
122 |
| 2003/04 |
1898 |
142 |
| 2004/05 |
2020 |
152 |
| 2005/06 |
1890 |
146 |
| 2006/07 |
2020 |
126 |
| 2007/08 |
2161 |
143 |
| 2008/09 |
1736 |
115 |
| 2009/10 |
1439 |
113 |
| 2010/11 |
1593 |
98 |
Bridges with 10 or more recent strikes
Some bridges over roads were struck repeatedly in 2010/11 with 18 strikes being reported at bridge number TTA1/106 over the A624 Hayfield Road, Chinley in Derbyshire and bridge number ECM1/246 over A52 Barrowby Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire.
Bridges over roads at which 10 or more strikes were reported the year ending 31 March 2011 are listed in the table below.
| Network Rail route |
Bridge identification |
Location |
OS reference |
Number of reported bridge strikes |
| LNE |
ECM1/246 |
A52 Barrowby Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire |
SK 909 362 |
18 |
| LNWN |
TTA1/106 |
A624 Hayfield Road, Chinley, Derbyshire |
SK 056 816 |
18 |
| Kent |
LCH/678 |
A2218 Southend Lane, Lower Sydenham, Greater London |
TQ 369 717 |
17 |
| Anglia |
DWW2/227 |
Kenworthy Road, Homerton, Greater London |
TQ 362 849 |
12 |
| Western |
MLN1/1623 |
Station Road, Langley |
TQ 013 797 |
12 |
| Anglia |
ETN/1601 |
Abbey Road, Thetford, Norlfolk |
TL 866 837 |
11 |
| LNE |
SBR/10 |
A507 Baldock Road, Baldock |
TL 245 343 |
11 |
| Scotland |
AYR1/1 |
Cook Street, Glasgow |
NS 586 646 |
10 |
| Wessex |
BML1/2/29 |
Lower Downs Road, Wimbledon, Greater London |
TQ 239 696 |
10 |
| LNWS |
NAJ2/1 |
Newhouse Road - Long Drive, South Ruislip, Greater London |
TQ 113 855 |
10 |
| LNE |
PED2/16 |
Summer Lane, Barnsley |
SE 338 066 |
10 |
A list of all reported bridge strikes on overline and underline bridges in the year ending 31 March 2011 is available for downloading from List of bridges struck in 2010-11 (Excel, 178KB). The list shows the number of reported strikes at each bridge. Should further statistics be required for particular bridges known to have been struck, contact Network Rail’s Bridge Strike Champions for the Route: