The number of bridge strikes reported at our bridges carrying the railway over roads (underline) in the year ending 31 March 2012 was 1541. This is a slight decrease (3.3%) compared to the previous year.
The number of reported strikes at bridges carrying a road over the railway (overline) continued to decrease from 98 to 80 (18.4%).
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, may damage the bridge, 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. The number of bridges at which 10 or more strikes were reported fell from 11 to six.
| 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 |
| 2011/12 |
1541 |
80 |
Reported bridge strikes at Network Rail bridges
Some bridges over roads were struck repeatedly in 2011/12 with 17 strikes being reported at bridge number ETN/1601: Abbey Farm, Thetford. The number of bridges at which 10 or more strikes were reported fell from 11 to six.
Bridges over roads at which 10 or more strikes were reported in the year ending 31 March 2012 are listed in the table below.
| Network Rail Route |
Bridge identification |
Location |
OS reference |
Number of reported bridge strikes |
| Anglia |
ETN/1601 |
Abbey Road, Thetford, Norfolk |
TL 866 837 |
17 |
| Anglia |
DWW2/227 |
Kenworthy Road, Homerton, Greater London |
TQ 362 849 |
12 |
| LNE |
ECM1/246 |
A52 Barrowby Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire |
SK 909 362 |
11 |
| Anglia |
BGK/1568 |
A142 Stuntney Road, Ely, Cambridgeshire |
TL 544 794 |
10 |
| LNW |
TTA1/106 |
A624 Hayfield Road, Chinley, Derbyshire |
SK 056 816 |
10 |
| Western |
MLN1/20 71 |
Station Road, Burnham, Slough |
SU 940 813 |
10 |
A list of 343 bridges carrying the railway over roads and roads over the railway at which two or more bridge strikes were reported in the year ending 31st March 2012 showing the number of reported strikes at each bridge is available for downloading from list of bridges struck between 1st April 2011 – 31st March 2012. Should further statistics be required for particular bridges known to have been struck, contact Network Rail’s bridge strike champions for the Route: