Driver faces charges as bus hits low rail bridge

A BUS driver has been charged with ignoring road safety signs after taking a wrong turn and crashing his double-decker into a Lothian railway bridge.

Two passengers sitting on the top deck of the bus were lucky to escape serious injury when it ploughed into the bridge at Uphall Station.

It is understood the driver had turned off the usual route taken by the First Bus service through West Lothian just before the accident happened.

Both police and the bus company have launched investigations into how the bus came to crash into the bridge at Pumpherston Road.

The crash took place as the bus travelled southwards on an express route between Edinburgh and Deans just before 10am on Saturday.

The accident follows another crash involving a bus full of wedding guests - which was owned by the same company - that hit a bridge at Newcraighall.

None of the eight passengers involved in the latest crash, including two understood to have been sitting on the top deck, were injured .

Rail services on the bridge were immediately suspended, but restarted less than two hours later, after an inspection revealed no structural damage.

Today, First was reluctant to comment on the causes of the crash, but confirmed the driver had been suspended.

Graeme Torrance, managing director for First Scotland East, said: "I can confirm that one of our double-deck buses was slightly damaged while going under a low bridge at Uphall Station on Saturday . None of the passengers on board at the time were injured, and a full internal investigation is already under way.

"We notified the local police immediately. The road was reopened shortly afterwards, following confirmation that there was no serious damage to the bridge."

Charges have now been brought against the driver by Lothian and Borders Police.

A force spokeswoman said: "The driver has been charged for failing to observe the height restrictions .

"The bus was being driven southwards down Pumpherston Road. The driver attempted to drive under the bridge. The bus struck the bridge, causing minor damage to the roof. There was no damage to the bridge."

In June, the driver of a bus that ploughed into a low bridge, injuring four wedding guests, was charged.

Four passengers were hurt and others dived for safety as the top deck of the double-decker bus struck the rail bridge at Newcraighall in the early hours of the morning. Police said it was a miracle that no-one had been killed or seriously hurt.

Passengers on the bus were left so traumatised that they suffered flash-backs and were unable to stop themselves reliving the moment they came close to being killed.

The accident happened as the specially chartered First Bus double-decker was ferrying guests home from a wedding reception.

Two women, aged 31 and 28, and a 33-year-old man were taken to hospital and treated for minor injuries, including cuts and shock.

The most serious accident of this kind in Scotland in recent years happened in Glasgow in 1994.

Three Girl Guides and two adult helpers were killed when a bus struck a low rail bridge. They were returning to Drumchapel from a day trip to Wonderwest World in Ayr when the double-decker bus hit a low bridge at the city’s West Street. Fifteen others were injured.

The bus driver was later convicted of careless driving and fined £750. He was cleared of the more serious charge of causing the five deaths by a jury at Glasgow Sheriff Court.