Bridge strike at Newcraighall

[talltim]

Something has give a bridge a good whack at Newcraighall in Edinburgh. Looks to be the bridge just north of the station on the A6095 Newcraighall Road.
Pics on Twitter from Network Rail. The Tweet was at 02:13 today, but the pics are in daylight, so possibly it happened yesterday
Scotrail Tweet half an hour ago says that rail disruption is now over.

Google Streeview

That looks far worse that most bridge strikes, the girders are moved a lot. Must have been some swift work by the engineers.

 

[thealexweb]

Is this bridge due for replacement or modification anytime soon? Speaking for the local commuters (of which I am one of them), this bridge is resented as it is the only low bridge that prevents the popular No 30 bus from being a double decker. When the No.30 is diagrammed to be a double checker it sadly has to terminate at the nearby Fort Kinnaird.

 

[dtaylor84]

The Tweet was at 02:13 today, but the pics are in daylight, so possibly it happened yesterday

That would be 02:13AM Pacific Time, the default for twitter unless you set your timezone in your profile settings. It happened this morning and the tweet was sent at 10:13AM.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

That looks far worse that most bridge strikes, the girders are moved a lot. Must have been some swift work by the engineers.

I wonder if a certain forum member will still insist bridge strikes don't do any damage?

 

[talltim]

That would be 02:13AM Pacific Time, the default for twitter unless you set your timezone in your profile settings. It happened this morning and the tweet was sent at 10:13AM.

Strange, I thought I was logged in. Other tweets showed my time. Oh well

 

[dysonsphere]

that looks pretty terminial , new deck needed

 

[Walter Whigham]

Where known Network Rail ought to publish full details of any culprit involved in a bridge strike on its website so that anyone - road or rail user - can seek compensation for delays etc. Fear of having their name published might act as a deterrent and a spur to be more careful.

Do we know if Network Rail seek damages, as a routine, from any bridge striker?

 

[David]

What the bloody hell has clobbered that ?!?!?!? What ever it was, it's hit it hard enough to displace the deck slightly!

 

[Blindtraveler]

Is this bridge due for replacement or modification anytime soon? Speaking for the local commuters (of which I am one of them), this bridge is resented as it is the only low bridge that prevents the popular No 30 bus from being a double decker. When the No.30 is diagrammed to be a double checker it sadly has to terminate at the nearby Fort Kinnaird.

I asked NR about this a while back in connection with Borders rail and they said no. Might this opportunitty be taken, maybe over Aug Bank Holiday to put a good big block on the line, shut the road and change it?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
I dare say Lothian Buses wouldnt be happy given that they've just ordered yet more new buses for service 30.

 

[tsr]

Must be a day for it. London Victoria briefly had no arrivals/departures earlier due to Grosvenor Bridge being struck by a lorry on the road section (where the bridge crosses Grosvenor Road on the North bank of the Thames) at about 1200hrs. Many delays of 15-25ish minutes.

 

[talltim]

Apparently it was a tipper lorry with the body raised

 

[dysonsphere]

Apparently it was a tipper lorry with the body raised

Ouch thats a lot of damage there

 

[DarloRich]

Where known Network Rail ought to publish full details of any culprit involved in a bridge strike on its website so that anyone - road or rail user - can seek compensation for delays etc. Fear of having their name published might act as a deterrent and a spur to be more careful.

Do we know if Network Rail seek damages, as a routine, from any bridge striker?

on what legal basis do you hope to recover the cost of personal delays from the person responsible?

NR will seek to recover costs from guilty parties, or at least their insurers where they can be identified and negligence proved

 

[Walter Whigham]

on what legal basis do you hope to recover the cost of personal delays from the person responsible?

NR will seek to recover costs from guilty parties, or at least their insurers where they can be identified and negligence proved

Common law provides for financial loss to be reimbursed where it can be demonstrated that such loss can be attributed to the actions of persons who could reasonably foresee that if they did not act appropriately they could cause damage to others.

The proving of negligence is a no-brainer. If you drive a vehicle that is too high for the bridge you are negligent if you hit it. The only exception might be where the street signage is deficient in which case the administering Council could be held culpable. However in recent times, it has been the practice of Network Rail to check street signage to ensure that Councils are facing up to their obligations.

 

[ADRboy]

The tipper drove into it with the bucket raised. Definitely the drivers fault for not lowering it before moving off.

 

[oldman]

The road under the bridge remains closed, according to Lothian Buses, who should know. From the Evening News today:

Engineers have warned that emergency works to “make safe” a rail bridge that have shut the main road through Newcraighall might not be completed today as scheduled.

Newcraighall Road was due to open again today following almost a week of travel disruption after a lorry collided with a railway bridge on Tuesday.

The tipper truck caused “very significant damage” to the bridge that runs down the middle of the community, leaving Newcraighall effectively cut in two after Network Rail engineers were forced to shut it to pedestrian and car traffic over safety concerns.

A spokesman for the rail infrastructure operator raised the possibility that the bridge could be closed even longer, warning that repairs were “a challenge” and a reopening today was “by no means certain”. Workers will return for further “significant” overnight repairs over the next two weekends, Network Rail added.

...

The spokesman for Network Rail said: “A large tipper lorry delivering to an adjacent construction site left the site with its body still raised and collided with the bridge, causing significant damage.

“Following a full and thorough inspection of the bridge by our structural engineers, it was deemed safe for rail traffic following a closure of several hours. However, due to the nature of the damage, there remained a danger of falling masonry to the carriageway below and so vehicle and pedestrian access had to be restricted on safety grounds.”

They seem only to be working overnight. Given the low amount of passengers on the Newcraighall line, I wonder if keeping the line open should be the priority. The disruption to local people is considerable, especially if the bridge is closed to pedestrians.

 

[90019]

You've got to love the quality journalism in the Evening news.
This section in particular:

There are no bus services to Newcraighall or the Newhailes Industrial Estate “until further notice”, with the number 30 Lothian Buses service diverted on to the A1 to avoid the closure. Rail services have not been not be disrupted as repair work has taken place outside the weekend schedule, but further disruption has not been ruled out if repairs drag on into the week.

Which totally ignores the free shuttle bus that's running between Newcraighall and Stoneybank from 0700 to 1900 each day.

 

[thealexweb]

You've got to love the quality journalism in the Evening news.
This section in particular:

Which totally ignores the free shuttle bus that's running between Newcraighall and Stoneybank from 0700 to 1900 each day.

What is this free shuttle bus? I have not heard about this and I am interested to know more.

Also was the bridge always so angled? See here a photo of it I took last year. Shout out to the sweet ex-Virgin Mark IIs crossing it.