Cygnet failure! Injured swan on the line causes hours of delays for rush-hour commuters at London station
- Nicola Cilliers filmed feathered intruder stuck on the tracks at South Acton
- Transport for London was forced to partially suspend the Overground line
- Took four hours to rescue the feathered intruder and Ms Cilliers posted updates
- Final post showed the animal being looked after by London Wildlife Protection
An injured swan had to be rescued after it made its way on to the tracks at a west London station yesterday, causing hours of delays.
Commuters heading home during rush hour had their journeys disrupted as the swan blocked two trains on the tracks at South Acton station.
Nicola Cilliers, 43, filmed the feathered intruder after she and her partner Steve Fraser spotted the bird at around 5.30pm from the window of her flat overlooking the station.
Ms Cilliers alerted the RSPCA while Transport for London partially suspended the line and she documented the four-hour rescue mission on Twitter, posting regular updates.
Nicola Cilliers, 43, filmed the feathered intruder after she and her partner Steve Fraser spotted the bird at around 5.30pm from the window of her flat overlooking the station
Transport for London were forced to partially suspend the line while rail workers tried to shepherd the injured bird off the tracks
Ms Cilliers said: ‘At first, we thought it was rather funny seeing a swan on the tracks holding up a train and then two trains but it quickly turned to concern for his welfare.
‘We then went down to investigate after he was shooed off the tracks by a Network Rail engineer.
‘The engineer and another man stayed with us to guard the swan while we called several charities but to no avail.
‘The fire brigade actually put me in touch with London Wildlife Protection and I got a call back from a lovely lady called Ann, a swan rescue volunteer, who was able to come out and take him.
‘No-one else was able to come out and we would have been totally lost if the London Wildlife Protection had not helped because we could not have left him alone.’
Ms Cillier’s final post of the swan’s ordeal at 10.43pm showed the feathered creature ‘safe and sound’ and being looked after by the London Wildlife Protection.
She said: ‘It’s always good to see a happy ending.’
Ms Cilliers said: ‘At first, we thought it was rather funny seeing a swan on the tracks holding up a train and then two trains but it quickly turned to concern for his welfare’
Earlier, passenger Adam Bolf had shared a Facebook post of the animal sitting in between the lines while a TfL engineer attempted to shoo it out away as a train waited to pass.
In response James Briddon said: ‘Should beak more careful where it wanders.’ Jordan Graham said: ‘Swan way mate.’ Shannon Johnson said: ‘Something’s a fowl.’
Kerrie Louise said: ‘Look at him, just swanning about, Acton the fool.’ Ewa Gee said: ‘I hope swannie made it home safe, a la Network Rail slogan.’
Linda Christian-Edwards said: ‘Poor baby.’ Julie Crowley said: ‘Poor thing I hope it wasn’t injured and the right people rescued it.’
The swan was rescued at around 10.40pm yesterday and looked after by London Wildlife Protection
Passenger Adam Bolf shared a Facebook post of the animal sitting in between the lines while a TfL engineer attempted to shoo it out away as a train waited to pass through
Rory O’Neil, TfL’s General Manager for London Overground, said: ‘We worked with Network Rail to rescue an injured swan on the tracks at South Acton yesterday evening.
Services on London Overground were suspended while the swan was safely rescued. ‘The swan was later treated by London Wildlife Protection and thankfully is now recovering.’
MailOnline has contacted Network Rail for comment.
Facebook commenters joked about the swan’s ordeal last night