Rothley Station - Vehicle Damage to Bridge 354

The following press release is taken from the news page of the Great Central Railway:

"At approximately 8.00 pm on Wednesday 3rd July 2002, a Vauxhall Cavalier travelling towards Cropston from Rothley collided with the northern parapet of the road overbridge at Rothley station. The collision demolished approx. 5 metres of parapet sending debris crashing on to the (up) line beneath. No GCR trains were operating at the time of the incident and the car did not fall from the road. A water main carried on the outside of the parapet was fractured sending a column of water some 30 ft into the air. The alarm was raised by S&T Dept. volunteers working at Rothley and a well rehearsed Emergency Procedure was put into action that brought GCR staff to the incident site and kept others informed of developments. The occupants of the car suffered minor injuries with at least one being taken into custody by the Police who are investigating the incident. The car was recovered during the same evening, but the road remained closed until it could be inspected by the Company's Civil Engineer. Services operated to time on the following day, although Single Line Working was required during the morning whilst debris was cleared from around the Up line. The road was re-opened to road traffic at 1.45 pm with Single Line Working having been withdrawn at 1.15 pm. Repairs to the damaged parapet will take place over the next few days with workmen being protected by temporary traffic lights on the bridge to control the flow of road traffic. GCR Management wishes to records its thanks to the professional staff who attended the incident and assisted with the clear-up operation. It just goes to show how much we need our Friends!" -- Jonathan L. Dul, Community Media Officer. 4 July 2002.

These pictures were taken on the evening of Sunday 7 July 2002. Click on the thumbnails for the hi-res image.

Looking south at the crash scene. Crash scene looking north. The approach to the bridge from Rothley. Close up of the damage.