Swan sparks rush-hour disruption at Scotland’s busiest railway station

Passengers faced major delays and cancellations to rush-hour rail services after a swan was found on the tracks of Scotland’s busiest railway station.

Network Rail said a bird had been found on the high level of Glasgow Central at around 5.49pm.

“We’re dealing with a swan on the tracks at Glasgow Central high-level station. Services to/from the station are being disrupted, but trains are still moving at a reduced speed,” the railway operator said.

“Thanks for your patience if you’re affected.

“We have a response team on site at Glasgow Central working to help retrieve the swan from the tracks as quickly as we can.”

Network Rail posted a picture of the avian “culprit” just after 6pm, adding that its teams were “working to keep services moving and move the swan out of harm’s way”.

At 6.30pm ScotRail said the bird had been removed and by 9.42pm said the disruption sparked by it had ended.

“Good news,” the transport provider posted on X, “the swan has been moved and is now safely away from the railway.

“It’s a little distressed, but recovering well.

“Thank you for your patience, we really do appreciate it. We’re working to get crew and units back into position, with services now resuming as normal.”

It added three hours later: “Disruption caused by animals on the railway earlier today at Glasgow Central has now ended.

“Services are no longer affected by this problem.”