Solomon the tortoise was carried off the tracks by engineers - and staff had planned to leave the reptile with a vet practice nearby.

A tortoise miraculously managed to escape its home and climb on to train tracks, sparking delays for commuters.

After a global IT outage caused havoc for many trying to travel on Britain’s trains on Friday morning, more delays were reported between Ascot and Bagshot later that evening.

South Western Railway told Sky News a train driver spotted the culprit - a tortoise named Solomon - on the track near Ascot station just after 6pm.

The reptile was moving “at pace” towards Bagshot, they jokingly added.

Engineers carried Solomon off the tracks - and staff “moved the tortoise to a position of safety on the platform at Ascot, which included a short ride on the train itself”.

    • ᴇᴍᴘᴇʀᴏʀ 帝@feddit.ukOPMEnglish
      1·
      4 months ago

      I’m sure “tortoise mistaken for Cornish pasty and served up with child and baked beans” would be the most UK thing to happen, but until then…

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldBEnglish
    2·
    4 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    A tortoise miraculously managed to escape its home and climb on to train tracks, sparking delays for commuters.

    After a global IT outage caused havoc for many trying to travel on Britain’s trains on Friday morning, more delays were reported between Ascot and Bagshot later that evening.

    South Western Railway told Sky News a train driver spotted the culprit - a tortoise named Solomon - on the track near Ascot station just after 6pm.

    Engineers carried Solomon off the tracks - and staff “moved the tortoise to a position of safety on the platform at Ascot, which included a short ride on the train itself”.

    While staff had planned to leave the reptile with a vet in Staines, the tortoise’s owner identified Solomon and collected him at around 8pm.

    Network Rail added on X: "While we are delighted that this story has a happy ending and can reassure passengers that our everyone home safe, every day ambitions extend to pets, we must remind everyone that the railway is dangerous.

    The original article contains 270 words, the summary contains 169 words. Saved 37%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!