The bridge on the B3108 at Limpley Stoke, where the railway crosses over the road, has been hit by vehicles a number of time this year.  You can find reports on it via https://www.passenger.chat/search.html?search=Limpley - a rail passenger forum which records and discusses issues affecting train travel.  In the last couple of months - 27th May 2026; 4th June 2026; 19th June 2026; 24th June 2026; 13th July 2026 and some of those stories reference multiple hits.

Bridge hits mean that the railway has to be closed while safety checks are made, and that means than trains cannot serve Bradford-on-Avon or Avoncliff.  A limited service is maintained between Trowbridge and Bath Spa, diverted via Chippenham, but due to the limited capacity of that route means that the local service on that line is withdrawn, throwing passenger onto the diverted trains at different times to the timetabled ones, and serving different places.  The impact is serious at all stations in the Melksham and Devizes constituecy, and indeed it's felt far further afield as it's the main line from South Wales (and Bristol) to Salisbury, Southampton and Portsmouth that is blocked.

Question ...

Train crash driver died from traumatic injuries

A train driver died from traumatic injuries to the brain and chest in the Bedfordshire train crash, an inquest has heard.

Shaun Burton, 60, died when his train ploughed into the back of another service at Elstow, near Bedford, on 19 June. It left 162 people injured, including 102 who required hospital treatment.

An inquest into the death of the driver opened in Ampthill, Bedfordshire, and has been adjourned until a later date which has not been fixed yet.

Senior Coroner for Bedfordshire and Luton, Emma Whitting, told the hearing the inquest would be adjourned pending reports from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) and British Transport Police.

Burton lived in Cambridgeshire and previously been a parish and district councillor, representing The Stukeleys ward on Huntingdonshire District Council.

During the hearing, which lasted five minutes, the coroner's officer read a statement which said a consultant pathologist identified the cause of death to be traumatic injuries to the brain stem and chest, pending further investigations.

Burton was pronounced dead at the scene at 18:49 BST on 19 June. He was formally identified by the Fingerprint Identification Bureau on 25 June, the coroner's report said.


More than 100 people needed hospital treatment - Image © Justin Rivett

An interim report by the RAIB (RAIB) said that Burton's East Midlands Railway train proceeded past a red signal moments before the collision.

His train had been heading towards London St Pancras, after leaving Corby, Northamptonshire, at 16:40 BST.  The other train had been travelling in the same direction and was running ahead of the Corby service, having originated in Nottingham at 15:50.

The Nottingham service had come to a stop "unexpectedly" because of a fault with its Automatic Warning System (AWS) equipment, investigators found.

Data seen by investigators showed Burton's train's brakes were activated for about nine seconds before the collision, when the train was travelling at about 76mph.  Its speed had reduced to 49mph when the impact happened.

I have just asked for advice from a friend with a foot in multiple camps as to the best / most effective way of bringing the very real issues this is causing rail passengers across the whole area to attention to get appropriate attention.

Actually it was open by Saturday afternoon (my sat nav said it was closed, but all the closed signs had been removed, and D1 bus was running normally)

However during the closure, a lot more vegetation has sagged from Network rail land towards the road, making any signage harder to see, but there is now a height restriction warning sign on blue background about 150m before the bridge, which I think is new (although the overhanging vegetation partly hides it as driving towards it)

Erm ... I've put it in my post above. 

Now, that 'b' road wasn't a through route for around ten days - closed for works to a gas main on Winsley Hill. That would have been a good opportunity to improve the signage and sightlines to the bridge - was this done? On the first day it reopened, it was struck again... It can't be that there's more income to be made from the constant risk and disruption of bridge strikes here than there is from simply operating the railway can it?

Mark

More background and legal stuff:

https://lymm.uk/warburton-toll-bridge-Acts-overview

Mark

Andy Burnham has effectively been confirmed as the new Labour leader with 349 of the party's MPs having now nominated him to replace Sir Keir Starmer.

After a second day of nominations, the MP for Makerfield received the support of a further 27 Labour MPs - putting him on track to become prime minister on 20 July, with it now mathematically impossible for a rival to run against him.

He still requires the backing of three organisations affiliated to the Labour Party, at least two of which must be trade unions, although this is expected to be a formality.

(BBC article continues)

It could be a boat on the canal - Avoncliff or Dundas aqueducts, or a canoe beneath the bridge over the River Avon.  But somehow I would vote for Limpley Stoke rather than any of those three, even though it is not confirmed to be a road vehicle.

The other thing to factor in is finding a parking space at the hospital.  I’ve know it take people 20-30 mins driving round looking for a space - even on a Sunday. 

I have had this in the past. I've ended up just going through the procedure to buy one ticket twice.

My gripe with the site is that it insists I should register as a customer with them before proceeding to buy. I complained to GWR and was told that they were aware of this and looking into it. I am afraid I just resent having to register with any vendor for casual purchases, and it's worse when it is what seems to be effectively a monopoly supplier. Even Amazon (that I have reservations about using having regard to their adverse effect on other retail businesses) seem to have no problem allowing you to "sign in as a guest". 

The other thing to factor in is finding a parking space at the hospital.  I’ve know it take people 20-30 mins driving round looking for a space - even on a Sunday. 

The former Thames Train services from Bristol to Oxford were withdrawn (2004) because of "overcrowding on the tracks" but I say that in quotes because it looked like an excuse to move passengers onto less convenient, but more profitable operations still running on the same lines. 

snip

It should be noted that rail line capacity for passenger trains has changed over the years.  In our area, the demise of the coal industry and closure of Didcot power station has resulted in a significant increase in train paths available from South Wales through the Severn Tunnel to Swindon and Didcot, but the growth of long distance freight from Southampton to the Midlands and north, and stone traffic from Somerset headed east and north east has to some extent counterbalanced that; it has certainly added pressure in some places like on the capacity-limited Trowbridge to Chippenham line.  A part of this equation is the different characteristics of different train types - slow old coal wagons mixed with high speed trains lead to significant losses of capacity when one type followed the other.  These days the performances differ but less dramaically.