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Ten injured as second bus crashes into bridge

12:00pm Tuesday 31st July 2001

A bus crashed into a railway bridge at South Norwood for the second time in a week on Saturday, leaving ten people with minor injuries.

Twelve passengers were aboard the rail replacement bus service which crashed into the low bridge on Portland Road shortly after 1.30pm on July 28.

Ten of them sustained minor injuries and shock when the double-decker Trustline bus, running a shuttle service between Norwood Junction and Crystal Palace stations, hit the bridge.

The previous Saturday, (July 21), a Nostalgia rail replacement bus hit the same bridge at 8.40pm. The impact tore off the roof, which landed on a Vauxhall Astra behind the bus, seriously injuring to the driver.

This Saturday the area was cordoned off, with the railway lines above closed until 4pm, when safety workers confirmed the bridge had not suffered any structural damage.

Rail services between London Bridge and East Croydon were disrupted for two and a half hours, as the examination took place.

A spokesperson for rail operator Connex said: "We do apologise to customers who may have suffered shock or injury in this incident, but when we contract rail replacement services, we expect a safe and completely professional service from our contractors."

Nostalgia, the bus contractor involved in the first crash, has since subcontracted the route to Hertfordshire-based bus company Trustline.

Nostalgia claim that such arrangements between bus operators are commonplace, and that this latest incident was due to driver error.

Trustline refused to comment.

For the story on last week's crash, click the link below:

July 31, 2001 9:20