The injured reptile was discovered in Norfolk at around midday on Monday, near Harling Road station. The turtle forced trains to stop running along the Breckland line, the region’s secondary railway line, which runs between Norwich and Cambridge. Two trains were terminated early and one was delayed, according to rail operator Greater Anglia, which said services resumed just before 1.30pm. A passenger traveling to Norwich, named Diane Akers, shared a photo of the animal on Twitter just after midday and said the animal was “still alive, but in a bad way”. The image seemed to show a large crack in the middle of its shell. Another passenger, Anna Debenham, tweeted that an announcement had been made to passengers apologizing for the long delay due to a ‘turtle on the tracks’, later adding: ‘Strangely, I didn’t mishear. There really is a turtle on the tracks causing chaos.” Apologizing for the disruption to passengers, a Greater Anglia spokesman said in a statement: “This was due to a very large, injured turtle on the line near Harling Road. Network Rail attended and helped the animal. Services were able to operate from 13.25. “Two trains were terminated early and one route started 20 minutes late. Anyone who is more than 15 minutes late can claim late payment.” It is currently unclear how the turtle found its way onto the tracks. A Network Rail spokesman told The Independent on Monday night that the turtle had been taken to a local vet but was unable to give an update on the animal’s health.
