Tortoise rescued from busy train tracks near Bagshot reunited with owner

220724 TORTOISE SWR MERIDIAN
The tortoise had a short train ride before it was collected from the station by its owner. Credit: SWR

A tortoise brought a South Western Railway services to a halt after it was spotted on the tracks at a station in Surrey.

The adventurous tortoise was seen on the railway between Ascot and Bagshot by a train driver, who radioed his base to report the reptile on Friday evening.

A spokesperson for the rail company said that four trains were delayed while arrangements for a staff member to rescue the wandering tortoise were made.

Staff carefully removed the tortoise from the tracks and reunited it with its owner. Credit: SWR

In a statement, South Western Railway (SWR) said: "He has been retrieved and is now back at home.

"Network Rail and SWR staff moved the tortoise to a position of safety on the platform, including a short ride on the train itself.

"Its owner collected it from the station later that evening, and, as far as we are aware, he was unharmed."

The discovery of a tortoise on the train led to some interesting responses on social media. Credit: X/SWR

The post on X by the railway company garnered attention, with one person writing: "Please can you clarify if the tortoise is travelling with a valid ticket, it not, has a fixed penalty been issued for fare evasion?"

SWR jokingly responded with, "Hi, he did have a valid ticket and became a bit of a shell-ebrity."

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