Delays at Laois train station as lorry strikes bridge in Portlaoise

There were delays for Laois commuters this morning as a tall vehicle collided with an Irish Rail bridge on Grattan street, Portlaoise.

The Leinster Express / Laois Live can confirm that Irish Rail received word of a bridge strike at 7:40am on Friday February 6.

"An Irish Rail crew was deployed to the scene, and it was cleared and made safe by 7:58am," an Irish Rail representative explained.

The delays were not significant, and normal services have since resumed. 

This is one of many incidents where high sided vehicles have either crashed or become wedged under the Grattan street bridge over the last number of years. 

In March of 2025, the Leinster Express / Laois Live reported on significant delays caused by a lorry becoming wedged beneath the bridge, causing knock-on delays to services on the Dublin / Cork line. 

In February of 2024, Irish Rail announced significant delays to intercity services when a high sided vehicle crashed into the bridge. One hour delays were also caused by a lorry in June of 2024, which became wedged beneath the bridge.

In June of 2023, a lorry was similarly wedged beneath the Portlaoise bridge, leading services to be suspended at the time.

There have also been several bridge strikes on Coote St, the Mountrath road and the Mountmellick road.

Irish Rail had planned to include new electronic signage on the bridges, which could detect and alert a high sided vehicle driver that their vehicle would not pass safely beneath the bridge.

Pictured: an example, but not an exact replica, of what Irish Rail had planned for the Laois bridges in 2022.

A tender was issued by the national rail carrier for a new warning system in 2022 with plans for work to begin on the new anti collision system at the end of that year. However, the works never materialised. 

In 2024, a new system was announced that will measure high sided vehicles as they approach the Mountmellick Road and Mountrath Road bridges and issue an alert to the drivers if they exceed the bridge height limits.