Train GraphicClick on the map to explore geographics
 
I need help
FAQ
Emergency
About .
No recent travel & transport from BBC stories as at 06:35 02 May 2024
Read about the forum [here].
Register [here] - it's free.
What do I gain from registering? [here]
 18/05/24 - BRTA Westbury
22/05/24 - WWRUG / TransWilts update
02/06/24 - Summer Timetable starts
17/08/24 - Bus to Imber

On this day
2nd May (1999)
Last special train to Weymouth Quay (*)

Train RunningCancelled
06:31 Maidenhead to Bourne End
06:37 Plymouth to London Paddington
06:46 Bourne End to Maidenhead
07:40 Bristol Temple Meads to Westbury
Short Run
04:50 Fratton to Bristol Temple Meads
05:23 Hereford to London Paddington
05:51 Exmouth to Paignton
05:55 Reading to Redhill
05:58 Exeter St Davids to Paignton
05:59 Gatwick Airport to Reading
06:04 Paignton to Exmouth
06:18 Yeovil Pen Mill to Filton Abbey Wood
06:34 Paignton to Exmouth
06:38 Weymouth to Gloucester
07:19 Paignton to Exmouth
07:33 Weymouth to Gloucester
07:39 Paignton to Exmouth
Delayed
04:54 Plymouth to London Paddington
05:33 Plymouth to London Paddington
06:00 London Paddington to Penzance
06:04 Gloucester to Worcester Foregate Street
06:52 Worcester Foregate Street to Bristol Temple Meads
07:03 London Paddington to Paignton
PollsThere are no open or recent polls
Abbreviation pageAcronymns and abbreviations
Stn ComparatorStation Comparator
Rail newsNews Now - live rail news feed
Site Style 1 2 3 4
Next departures • Bristol Temple MeadsBath SpaChippenhamSwindonDidcot ParkwayReadingLondon PaddingtonMelksham
Exeter St DavidsTauntonWestburyTrowbridgeBristol ParkwayCardiff CentralOxfordCheltenham SpaBirmingham New Street
May 02, 2024, 06:41:15 *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Forgotten your username or password? - get a reminder
Most recently liked subjects
[113] Train drivers "overwhelmingly white middle aged men"
[100] Leven, Fife, Scotland, fast forward a month
[58] Visiting the pub on the way home.
[53] underground plans for Bristol update.
[38] Vintage film - how valid are these issues today?
[37] Infrastructure problems in Thames Valley causing disruption el...
 
News: A forum for passengers ... with input from rail professionals welcomed too
 
   Home   Help Search Calendar Login Register  
Pages: [1]
  Print  
Author Topic: Swans on the loose at Bath train station  (Read 3820 times)
the void
Sr. Member
****
Posts: 132


View Profile
« on: November 22, 2020, 13:32:16 »

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/bath-swans-train-station-b1759858.html

"The Independent has contacted National Rail for comment on the incident"

I wonder if 'National Rail' will respond?
Logged
bobm
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 9843



View Profile
« Reply #1 on: November 22, 2020, 13:45:11 »

Swans on the line are a fairly common occurrence across the network.

As to how they came to be on the platform at Bath Spa?   They were herded there by track staff after being found on the track.
Logged
TaplowGreen
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 7805



View Profile
« Reply #2 on: November 22, 2020, 16:15:59 »

Swans on the line are a fairly common occurrence across the network.

As to how they came to be on the platform at Bath Spa?   They were herded there by track staff after being found on the track.

I hope they were wearing masks?
Logged
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40850



View Profile WWW Email
« Reply #3 on: November 22, 2020, 16:54:52 »

Swans on the line are a fairly common occurrence across the network.

As to how they came to be on the platform at Bath Spa?   They were herded there by track staff after being found on the track.

I hope they were wearing masks?

Don't think swans are required to, but the original article does tell us there were other reasons for them not to be there:
Quote
Eventually, both swans were cornered and forced to leave the premises, with neither waterfowl likely to have paid the required fare.
Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
Robin Summerhill
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 1145


View Profile Email
« Reply #4 on: November 22, 2020, 17:39:08 »

Paid the fare? Did they get on at Bradford or Avoncliff them?
Logged
ChrisB
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 12367


View Profile Email
« Reply #5 on: November 22, 2020, 19:48:08 »

From the Independent

Quote
Workers at Bath Spa station struggled to round up the fowl pair.

Things got a little wild at a Bath train station on Saturday afternoon after two swans managed to make their way onto the platform.

In a series of videos published to Instagram by bystander Ed Shaw, workers at the Bath Spa station can be seen trying to round up the two waterfowl.

In one video, a worker attempts to catch one of the duo by tossing a coat over the bird.

The worker then falls over, however, giving the swan a chance to flee.

The bird?s partner in crime appeared to be rounded up more easily, with another worker holding onto the waterfowl throughout the course of the incident.

Eventually, both swans were cornered and forced to leave the premises, with neither waterfowl likely to have paid the required fare.

Speaking with The Independent, Mr Shaw said he had initially thought the first station worker had been holding a baby in his arms. He was shocked when he realised that it was a swan.

?It looked like a baby wrapped in a blanket, but as I got closer to him, I saw that it was a swan,? Mr Shaw said. ?Then the other two people came trying to get [the other swan]."

Mr Shaw said he had stumbled upon the scene after exiting the train and couldn?t say ?where they came from or how they would have gotten onto the platform?.

All in all, Mr Shaw said, ?it was a good start to the day?.

?It was pretty funny and quintessentially English," he said.

Other Instagram users appeared to agree, with Mr Shaw?s videos getting more than 160,000 views.

?Loads of people have found it funny. I hope it spreads and makes a few people laugh,? he said.

Saturday?s incident, however, does not appear to be the first of its kind.

According to past tweets, travellers were held up in a similar incident just over two years ago, when a swan wandered onto the railway at Bath Spa station in September 2018.

There's video of the capture on the linked page above.
Logged
Bmblbzzz
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 4256


View Profile
« Reply #6 on: November 22, 2020, 21:59:10 »

They'd been for a trip on the Wareham to Swanage line.
Logged

Waiting at Pilning for the midnight sleeper to Prague.
broadgage
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 5413



View Profile
« Reply #7 on: November 23, 2020, 03:54:27 »

On account of their size, swans struggle to take flight from land, prefering water. They therefore prefer to land on water and may mistake railway lines for water courses, this explains the relatively frequent landings on railway property.

Under favorable conditions swans CAN take off from land but need a reasonable unobstructed space in which to run and built up speed. They are not capable of vertical or near vertical take off.

Swans on railway lines can be captured by suitably trained persons and then released adjacent to water.
Interfering with swans is a serious offence.
Logged

A proper intercity train has a minimum of 8 coaches, gangwayed throughout, with first at one end, and a full sized buffet car between first and standard.
It has space for cycles, surfboards,luggage etc.
A 5 car DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit) is not a proper inter-city train. The 5+5 and 9 car DMUs are almost as bad.
Do you have something you would like to add to this thread, or would you like to raise a new question at the Coffee Shop? Please [register] (it is free) if you have not done so before, or login (at the top of this page) if you already have an account - we would love to read what you have to say!

You can find out more about how this forum works [here] - that will link you to a copy of the forum agreement that you can read before you join, and tell you very much more about how we operate. We are an independent forum, provided and run by customers of Great Western Railway, for customers of Great Western Railway and we welcome railway professionals as members too, in either a personal or official capacity. Views expressed in posts are not necessarily the views of the operators of the forum.

As well as posting messages onto existing threads, and starting new subjects, members can communicate with each other through personal messages if they wish. And once members have made a certain number of posts, they will automatically be admitted to the "frequent posters club", where subjects not-for-public-domain are discussed; anything from the occasional rant to meetups we may be having ...

 
Pages: [1]
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.2 | SMF © 2006-2007, Simple Machines LLC Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!
This forum is provided by customers of Great Western Railway (formerly First Great Western), and the views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that the content provided by one of our posters contravenes our posting rules (email link to report). Forum hosted by Well House Consultants

Jump to top of pageJump to Forum Home Page