Bridge of sighs - crane lorry causes chaos to railway line

Jul 1 2008 Uxbridge Gazette

SEVENTY trains had to be cancelled after a lorry crashed into a bridge.

The low bridge is in Field End Road, South Ruislip. The accident happened at 3pm last Friday, and two metal girders were knocked off the structure, forcing Network Rail to close the line it carries - the busy Chiltern Line.

The crane on top of the lorry,from Selco Builders Warehouse in Bradfield Road, South Ruislip, had not been lowered.

Father-of-two, Charlie Jones, 33, of nearby Somervell Road, said: "I was sitting in my front room and I heard a really loud bang."

He got up to see the aftermath of the smash.

He continued: "Luckily it happened just before the kids come out of school. Someone could've got killed."

The bridge did not re-open until 11.39pm, and 70 trains from London to Birmingham had to be cancelled.

The manager of Selco refused to comment.