By Donald Erskine
Trains were cancelled or delayed for nearly two hours thanks to a swan landing on the tracks.
At around 5:45 pm local time on Monday, Scotrail announced major disruption to all trains to and from Glasgow Central station thanks to “animals on the railway”.
Only high-level services were affected, with a ScotRail spokesperson announcing that “train services running to and from this station will be cancelled, delayed or revised.”
By 6 pm, Network Rail had informed the public that the delays and cancellations were due to a swan that had landed on train tracks, as a spokesperson said: “We have a response team on site at Glasgow Central working to help retrieve the swan from the tracks as quickly as we can.”
Staff released a photograph of the “culprit,” standing on the tracks behind a ScotRail train.
20 minutes later, train station staff had “safely removed” the swan from the tracks, as a Network Rail spokesperson said: “Good news from Glasgow Central.
“The swan has been safely removed from the track, and we’re now working to get services back on the move again as quickly as we can.”
Meanwhile, a ScotRail spokesperson said: “Good news, the swan has been moved and is now safely away from the railway.
“It’s a little distressed, but recovering well. Thank you for your patience, we really do appreciate it.
We’re working to get crew and units back into position, with services now resuming as normal.”
After the swan’s rescue, trains began to follow the schedule more closely, with a Network Rail spokesperson adding: “The vast majority of Glasgow Central services are now back on time, following a swan on the tracks disrupting services earlier tonight.”
