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Author Topic: Swans on the loose at Bath train station  (Read 3746 times)
the void
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« 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?
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bobm
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« 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.
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TaplowGreen
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« 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?
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grahame
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« 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:
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Eventually, both swans were cornered and forced to leave the premises, with neither waterfowl likely to have paid the required fare.
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Robin Summerhill
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« Reply #4 on: November 22, 2020, 17:39:08 »

Paid the fare? Did they get on at Bradford or Avoncliff them?
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ChrisB
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« 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.
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Bmblbzzz
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« Reply #6 on: November 22, 2020, 21:59:10 »

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