A 50-year-old tortoise brought part of the West Coast Main Line to a crawl after wandering onto the railway tracks at Runcorn on 30 July.
The adventurous reptile was spotted making slow and steady progress along the tracks by a passenger waiting on the platform, who raised the alarm.
After the trespassing tortoise was reported, Avanti West Coast station staff worked with Network Rail to arrange a safe rescue.
Trains travelling through Runcorn were temporarily brought to a halt while the tortoise was escorted away from danger.
The rescue operation took around 10 minutes, with train services able to resume shortly afterwards.
The tortoise was then taken to a local rescue centre, where it was cared for overnight before being reunited with its owner.
The successful reunion brought a happy ending to the unusual – and decidedly shell-shocking – incident.
Kathryn O’Brien, Customer Experience Director at Avanti West Coast, said:
“After receiving reports of a slow-moving trespasser on the tracks, our team at Runcorn worked with Network Rail to carry out a safe rescue. Even our mascot, Turbo, came out of his shell to keep the unexpected visitor company on the journey to a local rescue centre.
“We’re proud of the team’s swift actions, which helped bring the tortoise to safety while keeping disruption to customers’ journeys to a minimum. Thanks to everyone’s efforts, the tortoise has now been safely reunited with its owner. We’d also like to thank our customers for their patience while we assisted a trespasser who was in no hurry to pick up the pace.”
Ross Davies, Network Rail North West Network Operations Director, said:
“While there was initial shell shock in our control room when we first got the call about a trespassing tortoise, there was nothing slow and steady with our response during our joint race with Avanti to make this highly unusual reptile rescue.
“Thankfully trains were only stopped for 10 minutes so passengers could hare it to their destinations, and it’s cracking to know this plucky pet is now safe and sound back with its owner after its brush with danger on the West Coast Main Line.”
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