Network Rail chaos as horse on line sparks major delays for thousands of commuters
The loose horse was spotted trotting down the railway track in the West Midlands on Sunday morning.
An inquisitive horse caused chaos for morning train passengers after going for a gentle trot … straight down a busy railway track. The small horse was spotted on the tracks at Albrighton in east Shropshire - between Wolverhampton in the West Midlands and the Shropshire village of Cosford - on Sunday 1st February around 10am.
Network Rail Birmingham closed the line temporarily for fear of any passing trains striking the confused animal or any staff sent out to bring the animal to safety.
The firm confirmed the line was closed for around half-an-hour causing disruption for morning commuters and travellers on the often busy route between Birmingham New Street and Shrewsbury train stations. A team from Network Rail managed to track down the horse, and managed to remove it unharmed.
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A spokesperson for Birmingham New Street said Network Rail staff had managed to coax the horse off the track, and the incident was clear by 10.30am.
Network Rail Birmingham wrote on social media: "Our teams have removed the horse on the railway at #Albrighton which meant lines were blocked earlier.
"Services can now operate as normal between Wolverhampton and Cosford. Thanks for your patience while teams worked to resolve the issue."
One X follower - Montagu-Dunk - jokingly posted: "Ten hours to do a risk assessment. Two hours to put on an orange outfit. Ten people to go to Tesco to buy a carrot. Five hours to get a vet, just in case. Cobra meeting in Downing Street. Sixty page diversity report."
In December 2025, Network Rail revealed trains were halted after a suspected AI-generated picture that seemed to show major damage to a bridge appeared on social media following an earthquake.
The tremor was felt across Lancashire and the southern Lake District.
Network Rail said it was made aware of the image which appeared to show major damage to Carlisle Bridge in Lancaster just before 1am and stopped rail services across the bridge while safety inspections were carried out.
Network Rail said the railway line was fully reopened at around 2am and it has urged people to "think about the serious impact it could have" before creating or sharing hoax images.
"The disruption caused by the creation and sharing of hoax images and videos like this creates a completely unnecessary delay to passengers at a cost to the taxpayer," a spokesperson said at the time.
"It adds to the high workload of our frontline teams, who work extremely hard to keep the railway running smoothly," the spokesperson said.
"The safety of rail passengers and staff is our number one priority and we will always take any safety concerns seriously."
The British Transport Police said it was "made aware" of the situation but there was no ongoing investigation into the incident.
Network Rail said 32 services including passenger and freight trains were delayed because of hoax.
