Nutty Delays: Squirrel Standoff Disrupts British Train Service

A British train was stopped when two squirrels caused service disruption. One squirrel refused to leave, resulting in the cancellation of the Reading to Gatwick service. This quirky incident adds a bizarre chapter to railway history in Britain, where squirrels are an unusual sight on trains.

A peculiar disruption occurred on a British train service when two squirrels caused the cancellation of a scheduled route. The service from Reading to Gatwick Airport was abruptly terminated at Redhill after staff efforts to remove one of the squirrels proved futile.

The two squirrels boarded at Gomshall without tickets, infringing upon railway bye-laws, as confirmed by a spokesperson for Great Western Railway (GWR). Staff attempted to shoo them off at Redhill, but one stubborn squirrel refused to disembark, forcing the train's premature termination.

While it's common to see pets like dogs on British trains, squirrels are rare passengers. According to the Woodland Trust, there are around 2.7 million grey squirrels in the UK, and their numbers continue to grow.

(With inputs from agencies.)