In this issue

Bridge strikes are, frankly, a pain. They cause huge disruption on the rail network and on roads and are hugely costly financially. But mostly, they're infuriating because they are completely avoidable.

There are those who lack spatial awareness to the extent that they just can't help but crash into a bridge. It's amazing that with this calibre of skill they are able to legally operate a vehicle at all. But these bridge strikes keep happening, so someone needs to do something about it. Enter Network Rail, which has been forced by a rising number of motorists with an anti-bridge vendetta, to re-launch its campaign to raise awareness that these bridges aren't polite enough to move out of a vehicles' way. We look into the campaign in our cover story this month.

Elsewhere, we look at the new technology being used to help avoid crashes from rogue equipment left on the line after overnight engineering works, as well as profiling a new campaign hoping to raise awareness amongst young people when it comes to staying safe around railways. 

As well as all of this, we also learn about new efforts to make the UK's railways more accessible, how to support the mental health of rail workers, and the opportunity for solar power on the network.

For this, and more, read on. You can follow us @FutureRail_Mag too. Oh, and finally: a very happy new year to all of our readers from the Future Rail team.

Peter Nilson, editor