A LONDON train was brought to a painstakingly slow crawl after a family of geese waddled their way across the tracks.
The flock – consisting of two adult Egyptian geese and several goslings – were spotted on the tracks at North Sheen station in Southwest London on Friday.
Having apparently wandered all the way along from the previous stop, Mortlake, the geese showed no urgency despite the carriages full of commuters right behind them.
Video of the family of geese was captured by a passenger waiting at North Sheen as the train slowly followed behind them.
The birds can be seen waddling along quite contentedly unaware of the fact they were holding up countless Londoners’ journeys.
Thankfully, the South Western Railway (SWR) train showed compassion and the waterfowl were left unharmed as they wandered along in front.
It’s unclear where exactly the adventurous geese hopped onto the train tracks and where indeed their journey ended, but SWR issued an apology to commuters on the birds’ behalf.
Commuter Stephen Sloan spotted the birds at North Sheen as they made their way from Mortlake – a distance of about one mile.
Stephen shared footage of the geese to social media on Friday with the caption: “No crispy duck pancakes for this diligent SWR driver at North Sheen this morning.
“For those stuck at Manor Rd crossing it was for a good cause.”
Stephen’s post has since received over 120 likes and comments from users left tickled by the geese and their daring rail journey.
One user said: “I love how birds just don’t give a damn where they are. Same with the pheasants up near my caravan in Wales.
“They’ll just be crossing the road and not even phased by the car horn blasting at them.”
Another added: “I can forgive these reasons for delays. I cannot forgive the recent common excuse of “too many vehicles needing repairs.”
SWR issued a statement reading: “Sorry for the disruption this morning between Mortlake and Richmond due to a family of Geese.
“They have now left the railway to continue on their day out so services can resume.”
Speaking Friday A spokesperson for SWR said: “We were informed of animals on the railway between Mortlake and Richmond.
“All lines have now reopened, and trains will begin to call at all stations. While we return to normal running some services may still be delayed or revised.”
