HL Deb 02 February 1999 vol 596 c195WA
Lord Berkeley

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many incidents have been reported in the last 10 years involving high road vehicles hitting railway bridges. [HL714]

Lord Whitty

The statistics held by Railtrack plc about the bridges they own cover the nine years from January 1990 to January 1999. They record that during this period there were over 8,500 incidents of high road vehicles striking bridges. The trend has been continually upward, with some 1,300 incidents being reported in 1998.

Lord Berkeley

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether the owner of a railway bridge is entitled to seek compensation from the owner or driver of a lorry which has damaged it, in respect of:

  1. (a) the cost of repairing the damage to the bridge; and
  2. (b) the cost of compensation paid by Railtrack to train operators whose services were delayed or cancelled.
[HL715]

Lord Whitty

We are advised that:

  1. (a) Owners of railway bridges are entitled to claim compensation for the cost of repairing damage to their bridges from the owner or driver of a vehicle which has damaged it; and
  2. (b) Railtrack plc is entitled to claim compensation for the cost of compensation payments made to train operators for disruption to their services from the owners or drivers of vehicles only when the vehicle causes actual damage to the bridge. Where train services are disrupted as a precautionary measure and no damage is identified, the costs are not recoverable.