'There's a pig on the line' - wild boar disrupts Scottish rail services

4 June 2020, 22:43

A wild boar was spotted next to the track in North Lanarkshire
A wild boar was spotted next to the track in North Lanarkshire. Picture: Scot Rail
Nick Hardinges

By Nick Hardinges

A wild boar has disrupted Scottish rail services for several hours after being spotted near the tracks in North Lanarkshire.

The "brute" was spotted by the train line at Wishaw, where services travel between Glasgow Central and Larkhall, at around 7:30pm on Thursday.

Scot Rail and the police were hot on its heels when trying to catch the "beast" that had initially been identified as a pig.

"There's a pig (yes, you read that right) on the line at Wishaw," ScotRail tweeted.

"Police and @NetworkRailSCOT are trying to capture it right now, so our Glasgow Central - Lanark services won't be calling at Wishaw for the moment."

The account later clarified they had been "advised that the beast involved is in fact a wild boar."

Another update read: "The wild boar is now safely off the railway and our trains are now able to stop at Wishaw again."

It meant services could not call at Wishaw during the time it was on the loose.

One Twitter user jokingly posted an image of what they thought could have been causing the disruption.

The picture showed the iconic Lion King character Pumbaa peering over a bridge on the A721 near the area.

Another Twitter user pointed out there is an abattoir near the track and station.