scope:

Introduction

Bridge strikes continue to be a problem for Railway and Highway Engineers. Despite various attempts to reduce the number of incidents and their severity, they continue to happen, causing damage to the railway infrastructure and delays for the train operating companies. Although many incidents cause little or no damage to the railway infrastructure and can be resolved quickly, some may cause serious damage with the potential to cause a major incident, and therefore need special care or considerable effort on site to restore normal running of trains.

This guide has been designed for use by all railway staff involved with the response on site as Bridge Strike Nominees and who examine bridges following reported road vehicle bridge strike incidents. Assisting with maintaining operational safety and minimising delay to trains are its main aims. It presents current practice and is a supplement to Bridge Strike Nominee training.

The mandatory requirements for the examination of a bridge following a Bridge strike can be found in Network Rail Specification NR/SP/CIV/076: Management of the Risk of Bridge Strikes from Road Vehicles and Waterborne Vessels. Further details regarding the management of Bridge Strikes can be found in Network Rail Guidance Note NR/GN/CIV/202: Management of Risk of Bridge Strikes. The procedure to be followed in reporting a Bridge Strike can be found in Network Rail Work Instruction NR/WI/CIV/076: Management of Reports on Bridge Strikes.

Operating Instructions and Signal Box Special Instructions, for bridges which have been assessed for robustness against bridge strike, may be issued to authorise trains to run until the bridge has been examined. Clear communication and up-to-date knowledge of the current situation regarding train movements is essential to respond safely and promptly to reported bridge strike incidents.

This issue supersedes NR/CE/GPG/001 Issue 2, dated March 2004 and the associated aide-memoire Issue 2A. The most significant change in this Issue is the amalgamation of Bridge Strike Nominee Grades 1 and 2 (BSN1 and BSN2) into a single grade of Bridge Strike Nominee (BSN). The term Normal Speed has also been introduced to represent the speed at which trains were permitted to run before the bridge strike occurred. The BSN is authorised to permit the running of trains at Normal Speed if the damage does not exceed defined damage limits. In addition, a number of sections have been clarified and new photographs introduced which better illustrate the points being made.

The defined damage limits have been brought together in a single table and the damage limit relating to the maximum area of reinforced concrete that can be damaged has been deleted.