‘There’s more to Prime. A truckload more’: and it’s stuck under Coulsdon South’s rail bridge, another lorry driven by someone who doesn’t know the height of their vehicle
It happened again last night. Another lorry lodged itself under the railway bridge over the A237, close to Coulsdon South Station.
Brighton Road was closed between the southern roundabout and Marlpit Lane roundabout. Rail services at Coulsdon South were reduced. Buses were put on diversion.
Network Rail works, due to begin on September 1, and intended to provide some more protection to the bridge and avoid such avoidable disruption for road and rail users, cannot come soon enough.
But the works, when they begin, will cause disruption of their own in the Coulsdon area for two months.
The bridge carries the London to Brighton line, one of Britain’s busiest main line rail routes, but it is regularly having to be repaired after HGVs crash into it, causing major delays and disruption to train services.
“To tackle this, Network Rail will install specially designed steel protection beams and support frames that absorb vehicle impacts and protect the structure,” the rail infrastructure body has announced.
To carry out the work, parts of Coulsdon South station car park will be closed on the following dates:
- Mon Sep 1 to Fri Oct 17: up to 14 standard parking spaces will be unavailable. The blue badge and electric vehicle charging spaces will remain available.
- Sat Oct 18 to Sun Oct 19: the main car park will be closed while a crane is used to lift the protection beam into place. There will be no access to the main car park and blue badge and electric vehicle charging spaces. Alternative blue badge spaces are available at the station building.
- Mon Oct 20 to Fri October 29: up to 14 standard parking spaces will again be unavailable. The blue badge and electric vehicle charging spaces will remain available.
At times, traffic management will be in place on Brighton Road to support the work:
- Mon Sep 8 to Fri Oct 17: Night-time road closures will run Monday to Friday, 9pm to 5.30am.
- Sat Oct 18 and Sun Oct 19: Full weekend road closures will be in place 24/7.
Access to Coulsdon South station will be maintained throughout.
During midweek road closures, passengers can reach the station via a left turn before the closure point. During weekend closures, access will be available from the south side of the station
“We work hard to prevent bridge strikes across the railway by improving signage, educating drivers and trialling new technology like over-height vehicle detection systems,” said Lucy McCauliffe from Network Rail.
“But where strikes continue to happen, we also install protection beams to shield vital infrastructure. These works at Brighton Road will help reduce delays and improve the reliability of services for thousands of passengers each day.
“Thank you to the local community and car park users for their understanding while we carry out these important upgrades.”
The East Coulsdon Residents’ Association is lobbying Network Rail and Transport for London to ensure that they provide step-free access at all times at Coulsdon South and provide a temporary bus stop on Coulsdon bypass when the road is closed and the 405 is subjected to diversions.
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