Passengers surprised after giant tortoise delays trains
The tortoise is expected to make a full recovery.
Passengers travelling between Norwich and Cambridge by train yesterday had a tort-ally unbelievable experience when a large tortoise on the tracks caused all trains on the line to come to a halt.
The giant African tortoise was spotted on a track in the north east of Thetford at around 1midday, and had evidently been hit by a train, sporting a large gash through the middle of its shell.
Several passengers took to social media to inform Greater Anglia of the tortoise, and once the trains were stopped, their surprise at the unusual reason behind the delay.
Diane Akers, a passenger en route to Norwich at the time, told Greater Anglia in a tweet: “@greateranglia There is a giant tortoise on the line past Eccles Road going away from Norwich it's still alive but injured.”
Another passenger, Anna Debenham, shared her experience in a Twitter thread: “We apologise for the 74 minute delay to this service. This was due a… tortoise on the tracks'
“Amazingly I did not mishear that. There is indeed a tortoise on the tracks that is causing chaos.
“The train announcer would like everyone to know that it is a Giant African Tortoise.”
The delayed trains were able to continue their journeys around an hour and a half later, with later services affected by the disruption.
With several people concerned about the tortoise, a spokesperson from Greater Anglia shared: “We have been informed by the [veterinary] specialist team that the tortoise is expected to make a full recovery.”
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
