Railways: Accidents

Mr. Drew
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents have occurred involving a motor vehicle striking (a) rail infrastructure and (b) railway bridges; and if she will consider reclaiming the costs of repair from drivers in those instances where the cause of the accident was negligence.

Mr. Tom Harris
The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) has provided the following statistics on train accidents due to road vehicle incursions:

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|    |Trains colliding with road vehicles not at level crossings|Trains colliding with road vehicles at level crossings|Trains running into fallen debris (bridge parapet etc.) following a road traffic accident|
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|2002|6                                                         |16                                                    |0                                                                                        |
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|2003|1                                                         |30                                                    |1                                                                                        |
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|2004|5                                                         |20                                                    |0                                                                                        |
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|2005|6                                                         |21                                                    |1                                                                                        |
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|2006|11                                                        |14                                                    |2                                                                                        |
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A rail infrastructure manager, such as Network Rail, could seek damages against a motorist who caused an accident.