By: Chloe Ong

A tortoise on the loose caused delays in train services at around 6 PM on Friday evening, July 19, after making a slow-speed getaway and trespassing on the tracks. Four trains were delayed after a train conductor spotted the reptile. By 7 PM, all services in the area returned back to normal.

Luckily for the tortoise named Solomon, engineers picked him up and even took him on a train. Arrangements were made, and the pet tortoise was picked up by his owner at a vet in Staines. “He has been retrieved and is now on his way home,” a Southern Western Railway spokesperson said, adding, “Its owner collected it from the station later that evening, and, as far as we are aware, (the tortoise) was unharmed.”

On the internet, there were many memes of Solomon being restrained by rail staff, with some people jokingly comparing its speed to that of national rail services. Network Rail jokingly called Solomon a “shellebrity” on X and told a user that he had even “shelled out a ticket.”

The BBC reported, “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,” from a Railway spokesperson’s remarks. Though Solomon went home safe and sound, people have been advised to keep a close eye on their pets along with lineside neighbors and to make sure that their fences are secure to prevent animals or people from going onto train tracks.

Image Credit by Karolina Kaboompics