Vehicle height limits due to bridge strikes

Bridge strikes which cause train stoppages are the reason behind new 4.65m maximum vehicle height limits which have left farmers worried about the impact on livestock and fodder haulage.

There have been 1,200 bridge strikes in recent years, with one of the most recent in early December forcing stoppage of trains to and from Galway for an hour.

Roscommon-South Leitrim Independent TD Denis Naughten has warned that the ban on oversized heavy goods vehicles has huge implications for the agriculture sector, reducing capacity for live exports by one fifth, and fodder transport by one third, and it will increase vehicle movements on many substandard national secondary roads by as much as 70%.