Bridge collision in Confolens disrupts Velo-Rail

Description:

Monday 25 August 2008

An articulated lorry carrying antique earth-mover struck a railway bridge that carries that local Velo-Rail attraction between Confolens and Roumazieres-Loubert.  There were no casualties.

Fortunately there were no velo-rail machines on the bridge at the time of the collision, but the bridge was rendered impassable, and the salvage operation took 9 hours while a heavy crane was drafted in to free the lorry and its cargo.  The road was opened again to traffic by late Tuesday morning, but the railway tracks remain closed.

The truck had been chartered by a British ‘Brocante' company based in Ansac-sur-Vienne, and the driver had failed to appreciate the warning signs as to the height restriction of the bridge.

In addition to the disruption on the road, there is also a problem for the railway.  The Association of the Charente Limousine Railway has machines and rolling-stock stationed at Confolens, which are essential to the maintenance of the railway, and are now trapped.   The Velo-Rail will operate a reduced service until the season-end from Ansac-sur-Vienne, and it is hoped that any drop in visitor numbers as a result will not harm the town's chances of operating a tourist train along the route from 2009.  The Velo-Rail has posted encouraging visitor numbers for 2008, with 13,650 passengers at the end of August.