A cat caused a short delay to an evening express railway service due to depart from London’s Euston station, after climbing onto the roof of the train.
The 20:30 Avanti West Coast service from Euston to Manchester was due to depart when the cat was spotted.
The railway lines into Euston are all electrified, and there were concerns for the safety of the cat which, by being on the roof of the train, brought it close to those power lines. The power lines carry 25,000 volts of electricity.
A different train was pressed into service as the cat remained on the train past the original 21:00 departure time.
Network Rail, who operate Euston station, said that the cat was eventually coaxed down after around three hours.
Joe Hendry, Network Rail station manager for Euston, said: “We often have to deal with birds inside the station but in all my time here this is the first train surfing cat!
“Thankfully curiosity didn’t kill this cat and we’re glad it avoided using up one of its nine lives thanks to the swift action of the station team and Avanti West Coast staff who organised for passengers to get onto a different train for the rescue to take place.”
Kathryn Pranga-Wells, lead station manager for Avanti West Coast, added: “The things some pets do to avoid lockdown. Thankfully we managed to avoid a cat-astrophe but don’t ask me-ow the cat got up there.”
Network Rail added that it was not known how the cat came to be on top of the train. Indeed, London Euston is a large site and one where it would be reasonable to assume a cat would sooner avoid, rather than enter into.
In any case, an intriguing story on Britain’s railways, one that’s better to hear about rather than fare increases and poor service!
