| Re: Caersws railway bridge that keeps being driven into 'has cost taxpayers £50k' Posted by Richard Fairhurst at 22:41, 24th November 2025 |     |
"A bridge that has been hit 12 times by drivers over nearly two years in "avoidable" incidents has cost taxpayers £50,000 in repairs"
What a silly intro. The bridge hasn't cost taxpayers anything. Drivers who are unable to read signs have.
| Re: Caersws railway bridge that keeps being driven into 'has cost taxpayers £50k' Posted by John D at 21:27, 24th November 2025 | |
To raise an old question again.
Why has it cost taxpayers this money? Surely the cost should have claimed from the vehicle owners and their insurance companies.
Why has it cost taxpayers this money? Surely the cost should have claimed from the vehicle owners and their insurance companies.
It is natural for the Highways authorities and Network Rail to contract and pay for the repairs initially - I would not want it to be up to the [insert words] driving the log lorry to engage people and manage the show - (s)he has caused concern that (s)he can't even drive in a safe manner. Having said which - yes - it costs Network Rail and the experts as Rebecca Watling has pointed out - but I would hope that she (or, rather her team) can then present the bill onward to the driver and his/her insurer. I wonder if any expert here can tell us what the cost will be to Network Rail ... and how much of that they claim back.
Yes - it will cost the public purse. But then the public pure should be getting it back ....
Network Rail should be able to recover all their costs from the lorry company (or their insurers) assuming they are caught. And clearly this one wasn't able to run away. Their costs would include any compensation to a train operator.
Fire service cannot charge for attending road accidents, but ambulance service can recover cost of any treatment they give. Police can charge for removal and storage of vehicles causing a hazard. Breakdown and Recovery services will also charge the driver or their insurers.
train operators delay repay payouts are based on percentages of ticket values, not the amount from Network Rail, so could be cost (or a gain) to this part of public purse.
Ultimately the public will end up paying for time and inconvenience of consequential delays as indirect costs are usually not recoverable.
| Re: Caersws railway bridge that keeps being driven into 'has cost taxpayers £50k' Posted by Mark A at 20:58, 24th November 2025 | |
Not particularly relevant, but, looking at the photo in the article, it's not impossible that the roundel mounted on the bridge and stating the clearance is the same one recorded by Google Streetview in 2024 as mounted on a pole beside the bridge. (The height notice on the other side of the bridge is triangular.)
Streetview shows the signage there (not only bridge height related) has been revised several times in the last ten years.
Also, wondering where the start/end points for that delivery would have been. If it happened to be Kronospan at Chirk, wouldn't have thought that it would have taken the load up the A470.
Mark
| Re: Caersws railway bridge that keeps being driven into 'has cost taxpayers £50k' Posted by grahame at 18:26, 24th November 2025 | |
To raise an old question again.
Why has it cost taxpayers this money? Surely the cost should have claimed from the vehicle owners and their insurance companies.
Why has it cost taxpayers this money? Surely the cost should have claimed from the vehicle owners and their insurance companies.
It is natural for the Highways authorities and Network Rail to contract and pay for the repairs initially - I would not want it to be up to the [insert words] driving the log lorry to engage people and manage the show - (s)he has caused concern that (s)he can't even drive in a safe manner. Having said which - yes - it costs Network Rail and the experts as Rebecca Watling has pointed out - but I would hope that she (or, rather her team) can then present the bill onward to the driver and his/her insurer. I wonder if any expert here can tell us what the cost will be to Network Rail ... and how much of that they claim back.
Yes - it will cost the public purse. But then the public pure should be getting it back ....
| Re: Caersws railway bridge that keeps being driven into 'has cost taxpayers £50k' Posted by eXPassenger at 16:51, 24th November 2025 | |
To raise an old question again.
Why has it cost taxpayers this money? Surely the cost should have claimed from the vehicle owners and their insurance companies.
| Re: Caersws railway ridge that keeps being driven into 'has cost taxpayers £50k' Posted by Mark A at 09:14, 24th November 2025 | |
No excuse of course as it *is* signed from the road, but remarkably, despite being over the A470, there are poor sightlines into the bridge itself, signage that announces it but doesn't scream, vegetation on wing walls and approach embankments + steel span is grey, all of which lessen the visual cues and from the south, no height sign on the deck itself. (Acknowledge that with all that in place, people would still manage not to notice it...)
This might be one of the bridges that acts as a protective gateway for various other low bridges in mid wales, e.g. the series on the road up the coast from Machynlleth.
Mark
| Re: Caersws railway ridge that keeps being driven into 'has cost taxpayers £50k' Posted by Noggin at 08:31, 24th November 2025 | |
If it's such a problem, why has it not just got a dirty great girder arch either side to protect it?
| Caersws railway bridge that keeps being driven into 'has cost taxpayers £50k' Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 19:18, 23rd November 2025 | |
From the BBC:
More than 1,110 minutes of train delays and temporary closures of the A470 have been caused by the crashes
A bridge that has been hit 12 times by drivers over nearly two years in "avoidable" incidents has cost taxpayers £50,000 in repairs, Network Rail has said.
The Abergavenny Road railway bridge, in Caersws, Powys, has been struck a dozen times since January 2024 - seven times in 2025 alone.
Network Rail said over-height vehicles crashed into the bridge over the Cambrian railway line despite numerous warning signs, causing more than 1,110 minutes of train delays and the A470 to temporarily close. The rail operator said it planned to install new signs in the coming months and urged drivers to know the height and width of their vehicles before starting their journey.
Network Rail says drivers are crashing into the bridge despite numerous warning signs
Rebecca Watling, head of performance at Network Rail Wales and Borders, said "incidents like this are entirely avoidable".
"When a vehicle hits a bridge, it creates a serious safety risk and causes major disruption to the railway, with trains stopped for essential inspections and repairs - meaning people miss important appointments or connections," she said. "These incidents also carry a significant cost to the public purse - money that could be far better spent on upgrading and maintaining our rail network." She urged drivers to "check the height and width of their vehicles".
Deb Justice, Cambrian Railway Partnership's community rail development officer, said: "This affects not only local journeys on our trains but rail travel across the whole of Wales and Borders."
She also urged drivers to "take a moment" to check the size of their vehicles before setting out. "It's a small action, but one that can make a huge difference to the safety and reliability of travel for both rail passengers and road users."
