Solomon’s tortoise was carried off the tracks by engineers – and staff had planned to leave the reptile at a nearby veterinary practice.
By Dylan Donnelly, Current Affairs Reporter
Monday 22 July 2024 19:39, United Kingdom
A turtle has miraculously managed to escape from its habitat and climb onto train tracks, causing delays for passengers.
After a A global computer outage has caused havoc For many people trying to travel on UK trains on Friday morning, further delays were reported between Ascot and Bagshot later in the evening.
South Western Railway told Sky News that a train driver spotted the culprit – a tortoise named Solomon – on the track near Ascot station just after 6pm.
The reptile was moving “at high speed” towards Bagshot, they joked.
Engineers carried Solomon off the tracks and staff “moved the turtle to a safe location on the Ascot platform, which included a short journey on the train itself.”
While staff had planned to drop the reptile off at a vet in Staines, the tortoise’s owner identified Solomon and collected him at around 8pm.
South Western Railway said it understood the turtle was “uninjured” after the ordeal and said it had caused minimal disruption to services.
Meanwhile, Network Rail Wessex has apologised for the disruption and appears to have suggested that Solomon gained access to the tracks through a breach in a fence.
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Network Rail added on X: “While we are delighted that this story has a happy ending and can reassure passengers that everyone is getting home safely, our everyday ambitions extend to pets, we must remind everyone that the railway is dangerous.
“Trains need several football fields to stop at full speed and there are less obvious dangers like the electrified third rail, which is always on.”
