Swan on the line disrupts train operator for second day in a row

South Western Railway said ‘a swan on the line’ is affecting services in south-west London between Clapham Junction and Wimbledon.

A train operator is being disrupted by a swan for the second day in a row.

South Western Railway said “a swan on the line” is affecting services in south-west London between Clapham Junction and Wimbledon.

This issue caused a number of services to be cancelled and delayed on Thursday morning.

One of the affected passengers was reportedly a judge who was late for a hearing at Guildford Crown Court.

It comes a day after South Western Railway was disrupted by a swan on the line between Kingston and Hampton Wick, also in south-west London.

Asked on social media platform X – formerly known as Twitter – if the same swan was responsible for both incidents, the operator replied: “no I don’t think so”.

In June, a major section of the £19 billion Elizabeth line between Heathrow Airport in west London and Abbey Wood in south-east London was blocked because of a swan.

Reports of animals on train tracks usually lead to services being stopped or running at reduced speeds.

South Western Railway services were also disrupted on Thursday by a points failure at Woking, Surrey and a signalling fault between Bournemouth, Dorset and Brockenhurst, Hampshire.