By: Kevin  Wang

Solomon, a pet tortoise, found himself in an unusual situation on July 19th. Four trains were delayed, and several services were disrupted after a train driver found him on the tracks of Ascot in Berkshire, England.

Several engineers managed to move Solomon to a safe area, and they also gave Solomon a train ride back to where he came from with arrangements to drop him off at a vet in Staines. According to South Western Railway, “He [Solomon] has been retrieved and is now on his way home.” Solomon’s owner collected him from the train station later that evening. Thankfully, South Western Railway reported that “as far as we are aware, (the tortoise) was unharmed.” Services in the area returned back to normal around 7 pm that day. Afterward, the internet started making jokes about how the rail staff appeared to be detaining Solomon. Network Rail proposed that the owners’ home is next to the train tracks, so the tortoise may have slipped through a hole in their fence.

Solomon was safe and sound at the end of this situation, but people were still warned to keep their pets safe near the railway. A spokesperson from Network Rail said, “We are sorry to any passengers who were disrupted during this incident. While we are delighted that this story has a happy ending and can reassure passengers that our everyone home safe, every day ambitions extend to pets, we must remind everyone that the railway is dangerous.” Sometimes pets can wander off into dangerous places like the railway, so owners must keep an eye on them. Solomon may have made it back home, but there’s no guarantee for any other pets.