Bus hits bridge on first day of rail replacement services on closed Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton line

A coach, supposed to be taking would-be rail passengers from Albrighton to Wolverhampton, purportedly drove under the low bridge near Albrighton Station, and clipped the top.

The aftermath of the incident was caught on camera by Telford photographer Hope Lye.

Hope was travelling by public transport to Wolverhampton just before 7pm to photograph some bands at the The Giffard Arms in Wolverhampton.

But was delayed by at least 30 minutes due to the incident which saw the coach clip the low bridge, apparently taking off part of its roof.

Hope told the Shropshire Star he would be travelling to as many as seven gigs in the coming weeks, with rail replacement service likely to be in place the entire time.

The photographs of the aftermath of the incident are below:

West Mercia Police confirmed the incident on Station Road and urged motorists to avoid the area.

The key rail line between Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton is likely to be down until at least March 25, while engineers work to make it safe.

It was confirmed earlier on Saturday that no trains will be able to run between Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton until further notice, due to the landslip in the Wellington area.

The Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury section of the line was originally closed on Friday following the discovery of the landslip.

It was due to be closed anyway at the weekend for planned engineering works, but it emerged on Saturday that it would be out of action for a lot longer.

An image of the area of track affected showed a large section of the bank which appeared to have fallen away, as engineers inspected the damage.

You can read more about the incident and check out the travel guidance here: https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/local-hubs/telford/wellington/2024/03/09/confirmed-no-train-services-between-shrewsbury-and-wolverhampton-until-further-notice-due-to-landslip/