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Lorry driver charged after crash onto railway line

Billy Jardine The yellow front cab of a lorry smashed into railway tracks. Two rails are bent and the front tyres and lower part of the cab are lodge in the stones below the track. The rear of the lorry is on the embankment.Billy Jardine
Emergency services attended the incident near Gretna at about 08:00

A lorry driver has been charged after an HGV crashed off the A74(M) motorway onto the railway line near Gretna.

Emergency services attended the incident which shut the line between Gretna and Carlisle at about 08:00.

The driver was taken to Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary. Police said he had been charged with a road traffic offence.

ScotRail cancelled services on the line for 11 hours while it was closed for repairs. Alternative buses were put in place.

The southbound road near Gretna was closed down to one lane, and the slip road for junction 22 was closed to allow for the recovery of the lorry.

Billy Jardine A drone shot of a yellow and blue lorry at the bottom of a grassy embankment on railway lines that run below a road bridge, with several white vans and other vehicles parked on the road above the line.Billy Jardine
The lorry came down an embankment before smashing into the line

Network Rail said it had received reports of a lorry on the line near the Gretna interchange shortly after 08:00.

A spokesperson said: "The West Coast Main Line (WCML) and Glasgow to Dumfries line were closed as a precaution until our teams arrived on site and investigations were carried out.

"Normal working resumed on WCML from 08:46.

"Our teams remain on site and are supporting our partners to reopen the line as soon as it is safe to do so."

Trains from Carlisle to Glasgow and Dumfries resumed shortly after 19:00.

ScotRail said: "The line has now reopened at a reduced speed, pending further repair work being carried out."

The Scottish Ambulance Service said teams had been called out to the incident near junction 22 on the motorway.

A spokesperson said: "We dispatched one ambulance and one paramedic response unit (PRU) to the scene.

"One patient was transported to Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary."

The A74 was reopened fully to traffic at about 19:30. Police Scotland thanked drivers for their patience