Rail passengers in Scotland faced major delays and cancellations during Monday evening’s rush hour after a swan was found on the line at the country’s busiest railway station.
The bird was discovered at Glasgow Central at around 5.49pm, Network Rail said.
The rail operator said it was “dealing with a swan on the tracks at Glasgow Central high-level station. Services to/from the station are being disrupted, but trains are still moving at a reduced speed”.
It added: “We have a response team on site at Glasgow Central working to help retrieve the swan from the tracks as quickly as we can.”
Just after 6pm, Network Rail published a picture of the trespasser, which it dubbed a “culprit”, telling passengers its teams were “working to keep services moving and move the swan out of harm’s way”.
At 6.30pm ScotRail said the bird had been removed, and by 9.42pm, said the disruption sparked by it had ended.
“Good news, the swan has been moved and is now safely away from the railway,” the transport provider posted on X.
“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.”
It added three hours later: “Disruption caused by animals on the railway earlier today at Glasgow Central has now ended.
“Services are no longer affected by this problem.”
