A Great Western Railway (GWR) train heading to Gatwick Airport was cancelled on Saturday due to two squirrels creating chaos after they boarded the service and refused to leave, as reported by the BBC. The animals, described as “frightened and erratic,” entered the rear carriage of the 08:54 BST service from Reading to Gatwick.
The distressed squirrels caused passengers to relocate to other parts of the train. The train manager then locked the carriage to prevent further disruption. A Network Rail employee attempted to remove the animals at Redhill station in Surrey. However, one of the squirrels refused to disembark, forcing GWR to terminate the service.
The uncooperative squirrel was eventually returned to Reading, bringing the unusual incident to an end. A GWR spokesperson humorously commented, “We can confirm that the 08:54 Reading to Gatwick service was terminated at Redhill after a pair of squirrels boarded at Gomshall without tickets, violating railway bye-laws. We tried to remove them at Redhill, but one refused to disembark and was returned to Reading, bringing an end to this nutty tale.”
Previous Animal Encounter
This isn’t the first time animals have caused disruptions on UK trains. Last December, a hedgehog was discovered hiding under a train seat between Weybridge and London Waterloo. The hedgehog, later named Hector, was adopted by a rail worker and his family.
The UK is home to approximately 2.7 million grey squirrels, with their population steadily increasing, according to the Woodland Trust.