What's the weirdest reason you've heard a train/plane/bus be cancelled or delayed for?
Posted by Sweevo1979@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 324 comments
Thought I'd heard the vast majority - sheep on the line, train late leaving the depot, etc. Yesterday set a new peak - "bag on the overhead line between York & Doncaster" so it's got me curious what everyone's peak reason is.
johnlewisdesign@reddit
Had swans on the line on my way to Leeds a few years back
Captain_Kruch@reddit
Illegal consummating by passengers. A couple were caught snagging in the disabled toilets after a passenger in a wheelchair needed to use the bathroom they were 'occupying'. They stopped the train and had to get the transport police after the woman in the couple screamed like she was being attacked (when she was actually just having a really vocal orgasm).
Wolvington52@reddit
Haha, lmao
Wolvington52@reddit
This happened with me 2 months ago. The replacement driver for the train didn't arrive and the train had to be cancelled. It was 1 freaking degrees outside at 00:30 in the morning.
harriscot57@reddit
One cold, dark winter's morning I was at Edinburgh airport waiting for the flight to London City. I doubt anyone was looking forward to the flight on a propellor plane because it was blowing a hoolie and it was going to be bumpy as f*ck. We sat there for an hour and then they announced the flight was cancelled 'because the elastic band has broken'. Apparently they secured the propellors with a rubber band overnight, and one of them had snapped and got stuck in the engine.
Ravnak@reddit
Not a delay as such but I once waited for a bus for about 40 minutes with a group of about 7 people. As the bus arrived an old lady looked at the bus number and said out loud "oh, I don't want this one" and waved the bus on.
The driver ignored the other 6 of us waving and trying to get him to stop and just drove on...
BarryBigSpuds81@reddit
Bovine incursion
MasksOfAnarchy@reddit
Escaped puma at Chessington North.
Badger ate a junction box at Nine Elms.
JSF--10@reddit
I've had a flight delayed due to the runway being too hot. (Which I understand as it makes the tarmac soft and sticky etc, just funny in england), and had a train delayed for cows on the line.
Also had a train cancelled a few years ago because of leaves on the lines
chippy-alley@reddit
Train driver forgot to change his old school alarm by an hour. Announcer asked us to give him a round of applause when he arrives.
Bus driver parked at an angle across 3 bays to run for a coffee (not supposed to leave vehicle). Slipped on black ice, broke his arm, & passed out. All social media said was 'ice hazard', but no way was that story not getting out
wilsonthehuman@reddit
I got stuck on a train several years ago during a particularly windy day because a rogue trampoline had blown onto the lines and we had to wait for it to be safely removed.
stvvrover@reddit
Smouldering badger
PissedBadger@reddit
Oh no
RustyRovers@reddit
Do you make that one with vodka or whisky?
Dimac99@reddit
I thought it might be an understated British cologne, our version of Sex Panther.
MrsKToBe@reddit
On a train from Newcastle to Birmingham- cancelled at Wakefield because some poor sod got stuck in the loo. Train went back to Leeds and they had to get the engineer to come and take the toilet door off. We saw it all as they had to take us back to Leeds due to the Wakefield station staff refusing to get the ramp to get my friend’s wheelchair off the train as apparently ‘it wasn’t their problem’ Charming.
SatinwithLatin@reddit
I was on the to-be-delayed train itself when a bird landed on the overhead wires and barbecued itself. There was a large flash of white, a loud bang and then the train brakes kicked in. We sat there for about ten minutes while procedural safety checks were done.
mhoulden@reddit
One time I was waiting at Leeds station looking at nothing in particular. A pigeon was standing next to the tracks. A train went past and scared it. It flew right into its path and was completely vaporised. Not even any feathers left.
27106_4life@reddit
Leaves on the line
Inside-Sprinkles3235@reddit
I heard the same in Liverpool a few weeks ago! Plastic bag in overhead lines. But I also heard staff talking outside saying they needed to find a driver so this may be a new excuse?
Adorable-Boot-3970@reddit
After flying back from Oz on two 14 hour flights, we had a 2 hour delay at Heathrow after landing because an airport car had parked on the gate and one of the ground crew had accidentally flushed the keys down the shitter ( literally )
PM-me-your-cuppa-tea@reddit
Escaped horses on the line.
I was in Peckham. So I made a comment about how it was only fools and horses and got absolutely silence as a reaction
NoGoodDealsWarlock@reddit
In a small local service we had to stop for highland cows on the line, followed by highland cows headbutting the train. I don’t know why they hated the train so much but you could feel the impacts shaking the carriages. Had to wait for an hour while the farmer was located to round them up. Only time I’ve ever called into late work for ‘being under attack’
SprintsAC@reddit
How did your boss react to that reason? 😅 This made me laugh so much.
Timely_Egg_6827@reddit
If going slow, they like to lick salt and moisture off of cars. Used to have to drive through a herd each morning. You were warned to go slow but not stop or they lean on the car and wreck your suspension.
JustAnotherFEDev@reddit
I was on a train once, on my way to Cleethorpes, from Pembroke. That's a gruelling train journey on the best of days, especially as it was something like 12 hours and several changes.
The final train stopped at Kirmington Airport, there was a cow on the track. 2 hours we were there, just stationary, whilst they organised a cow rustler or whatever.
They wouldn't let us off the train, we were in walking distance of a tiny airport that had taxis outside. I pretty much begged the conductor to let me off, came up with a bullshit excuse about my Mrs being in labour, he wouldn't budge.
Even considered just opening the door with the emergency button, but the conductor pointed to the fine sign. I can't remember the exact amount, but it was a decent chunk and not worth it.
Fuck, that was a long day
Acrobatic-Ad584@reddit
Years ago in an old wooden interior carriage on a no through access train was stopped for ages and I recalled that then, in certain circumstances if you asked for a ladder they were compelled to bring one, asked the guard, she bought one of those creaky old wooden ones, we all got out I think six of us and she took the ladder away, one of the chaps left his briefcase behind we had to give him a leg up to retrieve it - it's blood high. Anyway we walked along the embankment to the pub where we all got a lifts. I suppose the ladder rule no longer applies. Rail has been modernised, and now no seats let alone a ladder.
downlau@reddit
Some of my colleagues recently had to evacuate a train and there were little stepladders still being used, although you can't just demand them.
Acrobatic-Ad584@reddit
Go to know they are still useful
JustAnotherFEDev@reddit
That was handy, no such luck on my train, "you will be fined if you walk on the track", "yeah, but technically there's no track this side, as the train we're in is on it, it's just stones", he wouldn't budge at all. I wonder if the ladder rule is still a little known law they forgot to change, I mean if it were and had I have known, I'd have probably found it online and used it to justify opening the doors. It was kidnap your honour, I asked for ladders 😂
Acrobatic-Ad584@reddit
I must admit I hardly expected her to actually bring a ladder but she did! I wonder what they did with the old ladders, that's quite a few if every train was required to carry one! Kidnap is a good word for rail travel
Quiet_paddler@reddit
Slow clap
Fluffy_Juggernaut_@reddit
Great artists are never appreciated in their time
PrimaryOtter@reddit
So what you’re saying is that we, as a community, have to kill OP for their brilliance to be accepted?
Bad_UsernameJoke94@reddit
Yes.
SeriousWait5520@reddit
I'm sorry I wasn't there to laugh, that is extremely funny
PM-me-your-cuppa-tea@reddit
You know what's worse.
The stoney faced audience was my mother, who not only should laugh at what I do anyway, but also knows Only Fools and Horses!
Unfair-Equipment6@reddit
What a way to find out you’re adopted!
ConcentrateNervous64@reddit
Probably cos half of London doesn't speak english
PM-me-your-cuppa-tea@reddit
Uhuh.
Ok_League1236@reddit
that's brilliant
mkaym1993@reddit
That at least deserved a groan! What is wrong with people these days?
ban_jaxxed@reddit
r/nobodyclapped
TheFlyingHornet1881@reddit
Vandalism of toilets, would love to know how bad it was they had to cancel the train
kazerniel@reddit
yeah if no working toilets on a long-range train is not a cause for cancellation it had to be on fire or something
downlau@reddit
Not in the UK, but here the train managers can absolutely refuse to operate a service if the train has no functioning toilets.
bladefiddler@reddit
Nothing truly weird, but a couple of flights severely delayed by what seemed ridiculous.
Easyjet flight to Rome in late December - cold weather meant they had to de-ice the wings, which made them miss the takeoff slot so we had to wait for another, by which time the wings had to be de iced again. I don't recall how many trips around the merry-go-round we had, but we were seated on the plane for nearly 6 hours before we actually left - with the onboard tuck shop available at full price of course...
The other was a flight home from LA. we were delayed 6 hours for 'technical' before finding out that it was the entertainment system not working. It took another 3 hours for them to decide it was OK to still fly without their movies and shitty live map.
downlau@reddit
Understandable that it seems ridiculous, but many a flight has been brought down by icing, and at least one by a catastrophic fire caused by faults in the entertainment system. Can fully empathize with the miserable experience of being stuck on the ground for hours and hours though.
ozzzymanduous@reddit
That sounds like hell, I'd rather get off and get a later flight if I had the choice
bladefiddler@reddit
No option to get off unfortunately as they wouldn't cancel the flight in order to avoid compo repercussions, or I would have.
We were only going for a quick new year break - out on 30th, back on NYD. I was so pissed off and wanting to quit & go home I was tempted to start really doing my nut & making a scene so they'd open up & throw me off, but my other half convinced me I'd more likely end up in a cell than at home.
ozzzymanduous@reddit
I suppose we're lucky in the UK in that it's possible to get compensation for a delayed flight, it's hard to get the airline to actually pay out though
bladefiddler@reddit
I think that was before the rules changed (2005). I really didn't care, flight or hotel could stick it after that long. I was ready to just get off and go home.
ozzzymanduous@reddit
I don't envy you, I'd rather miss the flight at that point, were they at least letting you use the toilet
Eye-on-Springfield@reddit
Hey, it's a long flight, the pilot needs to be able to watch a movie and put his feet up
Original_Bad_3416@reddit
On board tuck shop is what I’m going to call the food and drink service from now on.
trentuberman@reddit
My Flixbus got delayed by >24 hours due to closure of the motorway because of snow. I was on the bus (from Strasbourg to Paris) while this happened, and there was no food or water, and the toilet while functional smelled utterly horrendous. Snow isn't weird, but the situation it put us in was bizzare.
MonsieurJag@reddit
A plane home from either Greece or Cyprus was delayed because a sparrow had got on board.
Annoying as it was, I felt sorry for the sparrow which had probably originated from Hounslow and was being turfed out in Athens or Larnaca.
Sparrow: Oi oi lads where's me sparrah friends? 🐦 Greek sparrows: Geia. Milás elliniká? 🤷♂️
Fine-Huckleberry4165@reddit
Cows on the line, somewhere near Cowden.
nadinecoylespassport@reddit
How fitting
Stlieutenantprincess@reddit
I've had the cows on the line reason, though the staff described it as "moo moos on the track" which I appreciated.
JPrimrose@reddit
They escaped from their den, I see.
yearsofpractice@reddit
This is a disturbing insight into the habits of cows
nadinecoylespassport@reddit
A handbag on the line
itsxafx@reddit
my train last week was delayed because manchester piccadilly had to be evacuated.
i’ve had other trains cancelled with the reason being “because it’s cancelled”.
i got back from sheffield about 25? minutes late because the train in front of mine was running late.
hazps@reddit
A train from Motherwell to Edinburgh delayed due to "flooding on the line outside Watford".
Profleroy@reddit
In America: brown bears with cubs strolling on the line in town.
ClimbsNFlysThings@reddit
Lack of interest.
Literally, the guard came over and said that this train has been cancelled due to lack of interest.
Obviously it was something else (I hope).
Big-Scholar4800@reddit
I shouldn't even be here today.
ShadowBannedSkyRu1e@reddit
i mean, if they’re losing money on the trip they may as well cancel it
TwinkletheStar@reddit
I really hope that was sarcasm?
They definitely make enough money on trains at peak times to cover the less used services.
MisterrTickle@reddit
And once you start canceling schedueled trains due to lack of customers. You'll never get customers again.
TwinkletheStar@reddit
Exactly!
ozzzymanduous@reddit
Depends whether it's cheaper to pay for taxis i guess
TwinkletheStar@reddit
The amount it costs to get a train nowadays it might actually be worth finding a few other people going the same way at the station and getting a taxi instead. I feel like this idea would be a good basis for an app.
Tattycakes@reddit
I had a taxi driver tell me that he was taking some people all the way up north the day after my trip, because it was cheaper for 5 people to split a taxi fare, even driving for hours, than it was for them to pay for 5 train tickets. Bonkers.
TwinkletheStar@reddit
It is ridiculous when the powers that be supposedly want us to use public transport more....they need to make it an affordable choice. When I visit my daughter in London I mostly go by coach rather than drive myself as its a lot cheaper, so if they made train travel comparable I would definitely use it for that.
klymers@reddit
I assume lack of interest meant lack of customers to make running the service viable? But honestly who knows with our train services.
Sweevo1979@reddit (OP)
"Sorry, the driver finds this bit of track boring and won't go on it" would definitely get a response like.
gijoe438@reddit
I had a flight delayed because the baggage handlers drove a forklift into the side of the plane
Dimac99@reddit
Okay, I actually gasped. It's good to know I have never fucked up that badly and never could.
TheFloatingCamel@reddit
Yep, that'll do it.
Afinkawan@reddit
"We apologise but this train has been cancelled due a short notice change in timetable."
THAT'S JUST EXTRA WORDS THAT MEAN 'CANCELLED'!!!
saz2377@reddit
I don't know about weirdest reason but the most confusing was on a train out of Manchester. We were held at a station for about 20 minutes because the driver was stuck in traffic.
It wouldn't have been so bad but I had got on at the 3rd stop of the route and we were held at the 5th!
NevilleLurcher@reddit
Smurfs at Hexham is still my personal best
missuseme@reddit
We stopped in the middle of nowhere countryside for about 20 minutes. The driver came over the intercom to say that he had been ordered to stop because bees had been seen in the area. Bees!
ImNotAlpharius@reddit
Beads?
missuseme@reddit
No no, bees.
I got bees and beads mixed up once before, it was a real pain in the ass.
ImNotAlpharius@reddit
GOBs not on board.
HailToTheKingslayer@reddit
You geo bead
Pigflap_Batterbox@reddit
Ring sting.
Suspicious-Magpie@reddit
Fairly sure that's the plot of a Thomas the Tank Engine episode.
TwinkletheStar@reddit
I don't know about Thomas the Tank Engine but I've definitely seen a Shain the Sheep episode where bees caused mayhem
teerbigear@reddit
Or there's that children's film, Bee Movie, where the bee wants to fuck the human woman
Kitchen-Peanut518@reddit
Not the bees!
newtonbase@reddit
My plane was stuck on the tarmac once as we were waiting for a member of the royal family to take off. The announcement made it sound like it was a treat for us.
SignNotInUse@reddit
The train to Barrow-in-Furness will be delayed because we've been advised to look for escaped cows. We got part way to Wigton stopped and slowly passed two cows happily stood near the tracks with the farmer on the opposite side of the fence.
MikeHunt1905@reddit
"There is a dying swan on the track" when my 15 minute train journey ground to a halt.
30 minutes later, we got the cheery announcement that the swan had died.
JennyW93@reddit
I had a flight delayed once because the airport was burning down. Delayed, not cancelled.
Ze_Gremlin@reddit
Was on a flight from Abu Dhabi to UK once and it had to stop for refuel in Cyprus.
And the plane.. the same one we'd been on for the first journey, took off, and immediately turned around and landed again, because one of the engines hadn't been working for like 3 days..
Now I ain't a big clever plane fixing man.. but we surely shouldn't have left Abu Dhabi in that state? Surely we shouldn't have even been able to get off the ground??
Anyway, free night in Cyprus while they did whatever the could..
wayneio@reddit
Luton?
StreetQueeny@reddit
No, arson.
AverageJoe313@reddit
Woolwich? They're pretty heavily arsonal
JennyW93@reddit
Close, Nairobi
MidfieldGeneralKeane@reddit
With Jane Boulton saying "You should have got here on time" 😂
missuseme@reddit
Was it snowing? Was there a bald man in a big coat laying on the runway?
Traditional_Rice_660@reddit
Bravo
Proud-Initiative8372@reddit
The show must go on!
Necrospire@reddit
Leaves on the line.
hyperskeletor@reddit
Way back in the day I was sat on a bus and the driver shouted "fucking bitch!" and just stormed off, a lady sat closer to the driver said he was having an argument with his misses on the phone and she said she was shagging someone else.
lornamabob@reddit
Not a train exactly but we got stuck on a roller coaster once because there was a pheasant on the tracks that wouldn't move and the staff were too scared to go near it. Luckily it was a nice day to be sat outside for 20 or so mins.
Sweevo1979@reddit (OP)
Pheasants are a nightmare. Once worked at a college where they nest and the amount of screaming you'd hear during the day in mating season was borderline unbearable at times. It'd be like being at a boyband concert in the late 90's/early 00's.
the_topiary@reddit
Delayed train from Reading to Birmingham, because "the driver of the train is already at the destination".
Basso_69@reddit
Probably in 'Spoons, having a pint while the train caught up.
the_topiary@reddit
Probably. I mean tbf I'd want to be away from Reading as quickly as possible too, I just hoped the driver would have been kind enough to take us as well.
rlaw1234qq@reddit
Dog seen on the line. After quite a long delay, no dog was actually found…
Klakson_95@reddit
"Tracks are on fire"
That day we had 40 degrees
Criticada@reddit
Massive trampoline on the tracks so our train had to stop the middle of nowhere for an hour.
New_Line4049@reddit
So, had a train delayed due to an incident on the line involving a fatality, they had to stop trains passing that point while an investigation happened and they cleaned up. Caused chaos at the London station I was at. They figured though some of the trains going my way could use an alternate route, including mine, so was given a new departure time and boarded and waited. And waited.... the new time passed, and we waited.... nothing. Finally they had to cancel several of the services going the alternate route as a number of drivers were stuck on trains the other side of the incident trying to commute to work.
If boats count I was stood waiting for a small foot passenger ferry, we saw it pulling in, and shortly before it came alongside the dock there was a loud bang and a metal tearing noise, then an alarm was heard and they rather hurriedly brought the thing alongside and got everyone off. We were told there'd be no more sailings today, so I left. I did think it looked like the boat started listing a bit. Later learnt the prop had struck something underwater and it'd partly ripped the propshaft out and torn a hole in the hull....
velvetinchainz@reddit
I saw a woman get hit by a bus in Churchill square, Brighton, and we ended up waiting 4 hours for another bus to show up after getting constantly cancelled on with no warning, they’d just drive past us. Was a weird day.
EugeneHartke@reddit
About 20 years ago at Manchester Piccadilly.
"... is delayed by 10 minutes because ... I can't even be bothered to think of an excuse".
DandaIf@reddit
Is this real? I can't believe it's real
Timely_Egg_6827@reddit
I can believe it as a Thameslink commuter. They typically have poor service but were disastrous for a time - bad enough they got ordered to refund 30% of the cost of an annual season ticket. They rotated the same excuses - my favourite was train crew couldn't find the train at Brighton because it was foggy.
And sometimes it is because the driver is delayed. Really needed to make a connection and train was delayed. Man next to me said not to worry as he was driver for the train I was catching and it wasn't going anywhere until he got there. And then I'd have a good 10mins to cross platforms as he had safety checks he needed to do before starting the journey.
EugeneHartke@reddit
Yer it was totally real and got a good laught from the platform.
MisterrTickle@reddit
Sounds like he wanted a shit.
Timely_Egg_6827@reddit
Someone tried to steal the copper cables while live and fried. They replaced the lines but a fuse had blown and they didn't know which fuse in 30miles of track. They needed to bring down a special train that was diesel so could run independently of the overheads and had a gadget that checked each fuse as went through. However that train was in Birmingham so needed to be brought down to London, switched onto another line and then sent up to Bedford to check and it had to go slow to let the checking work. Fun night.
a-ks94@reddit
Berry pickers by the line.
Well, it was the West Country, and yes, this has happened more than once. The best will always be the time a man solemnly declared “an abundance of leaves on the line”. It was November.
Beth_ACNH@reddit
Yeah the problem with leaves on the line is that when you drive over them they essentially turn into the leaf equivalent of black ice, making the trains breaks fail and risking crashes, platform overshoots, and just general havoc! It's not as silly as it sounds.
chesh36517@reddit
When I was a ramp agent (baggage handler) we had a call on the radio to say that the plane we'd just pushed back was coming back to the gate as one of the pilots had projectile vomited on the instruments during taxiing.
Jezbod@reddit
Stood in the check-in queue at Manchester airport - terminal x, when we were informed that the 'plane we should be getting on in 45-60 minutes to fly to New York, was still at Newark Airport, New York...and was cancelled.
Ice stopped play.
Next available seat was in 2 days.
JackXDark@reddit
A massive tornado. In Birmingham. Seriously.
3pointBrick@reddit
Train hit a horse
faa19@reddit
A swan decided that the railway track over the river was a great place to sit and rest. They had to turn the electric third rail off to capture it and move it on. I was amused it hadn't happened before as there are a fair few swans in that area.
God_Lover77@reddit
We had our train stop in the middle of nowhere on an important journey to wait because the rails were on fire. I missed my next train and had to shill out more money. It was also announced that we'd the last train on the route to be allowed in. Big woop
Roxygen1@reddit
The driver who was scheduled to take over the train was delayed.
Because the train he was arriving on was running late.
ok_chippie@reddit
There are two I remember from a few years ago:
Leaves on the line
The wrong kind of snow on the line
FeekyDoo@reddit
Plane crashed on the line.
After a long delay we got on a train. We went by the crash site slowly.
It actually came down about 10m from the railway and pilot managed to put it in a garden that it filled, missing both the rail line and a school.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1256487.stm
That's the rail embankent behind the plane.
faa19@reddit
I wondered before clicking the link if that was the Shoreham light aircraft crash. I cant believe it was 24 years ago, I'm local and still vaguely remember it happening.
RustyRovers@reddit
24 years ago, to the day!
(at least, the date that the article was published).
FeekyDoo@reddit
Shit, I've got old!
KeyLog256@reddit
No idea why this isn't the top answer!
Brilliant-Rabbit6191@reddit
I once had a National Express coach delayed for over an hour because someone on the previous journey had "spilt yoghurt on one of the seats". I think these were faux leather seats so if that really were the case it should have been a 10 second job, which makes me wonder if yoghurt was a euphemism...
RummazKnowsBest@reddit
On the metro and the driver slammed the brakes on and we sat for a few minutes. Driver then announced we’d be terminating at the next stop which we crept to as slowly as possible.
The driver got out and told people who asked that someone had been on the line. He was as white as a sheet.
I read in the local paper a few days later that a man had been cut in half by a metro. Poor bloke and poor driver, that’ll stick with him forever.
ilovebernese@reddit
I was once on train that hit someone.
The expression on the drivers face when he left the cabin. I can still remember it. Twenty years later.
RandomHigh@reddit
I used to work at a bus station.
Best one I heard was a bus was running late due to a woman going into labour.
Driver rang for ambulance and they said it would be at least 30 minutes, so a couple of passengers held her hands and he drove her to the front of the hospital in the bus.
Came back to the station and we had to get a load of cleaning supplies for them before they could take it back out.
acatmumhere@reddit
Sheep on the line - it was stuck in North Wales though so not entirely surprising
CaptainVXR@reddit
Train started smoking in Poland. Ended up being transferred to another one mid journey.
Found it very funny at Berlin Hauptbahnhof to hear an announcement that the incoming train from Warsaw was late due to "delays outside of Germany", just to make it clear that the Germans weren't to blame for any inefficiency!
For me one of the most common GWR announcements seems to be delays due to "more trains needing repairs than usual"...
Middle_Basket618@reddit
I had a flight severely delayed because a guy ripped the door off the overhead bin trying to close it over his obviously oversized suitcase. They can't take off with a missing overhead bin door, so we had to deplane and wait for another plane to become available.
Sasspishus@reddit
"They seem to think our train doesn't exist, but clearly it does"
Gecko_Carrot@reddit
Definitely not as weird as everyone else, but my flight got delayed by around 6 hours because it got struck by lightning. It was a disaster.
Another time, my metro got delayed due to cows on the track.
There is more weird ones, like people leaning on train doors, but definitely not as bad.
Jaded_Valuable439@reddit
‘We apologise for the delay but there is a lady on the track picking brambles’
Cm1904@reddit
Swan on the tracks. The driver had to get off and shoo it away!
wayneio@reddit
idk if its weird but about once every two weeks in the cold dark nights leading up to the end of the year, there's usually a jumper on at least one of the main lines into London.
Lielune@reddit
…I initially read this as a jumper as in sweater and laughed… and THEN I realised what you actually meant…
Jorge-Esqueleto@reddit
London Underground train, Jubilee Line at Baker St Station: "Hello Ladies and Gents, Driver speaking. Sorry for the delay but I've just been sick all over myself and the cab. I feel better, and I've asked for assistance in cleaning up, but this train will remain in the platform for a while. Sorry for the inconvenience ".
sshiverandshake@reddit
"We are sorry to announce that the .. 07:25 to .. London Waterloo is cancelled due to: leaf on the track."
I've also had: "strong wind", "land slide", "extreme weather" (it was sunny) and no staff.
Liverpool7-0Utd@reddit
Do you know how dangerous leaves on the line are?
FairlyInconsistentRa@reddit
Leaves on the line. Train goes over them. Munches them. Train wheel can no longer make contact with metal rail. Train skids.
I've been on a few trains where they've skidded and the driver has had to really slam the brakes because of low rail adhesion.
Isn't an excuse and isn't a laughing matter.
sshiverandshake@reddit
I didn't get the opportunity to think about convincing myself, my immediate concern was how I was going to convince my manager.
StreetQueeny@reddit
Well basically you could have let your manager know that wet leaves caught between the rail and a wheel mean the brakes don't work and your chances of your skull being ejected out of your own arsehole rise pretty dramatically.
Simbooptendo@reddit
What a way to go
sshiverandshake@reddit
Especially if they were wet leaves, waterway to go!
Byrdie55555@reddit
Leaves on the line
Falling so slow
Like fragile tiny shells
Derailing in the foam
Little train conductor
Come Chugging home
Brave train conductor
Comes Chugging home
BloodLemming@reddit
Was the landslide earlier this year near Gatwick? It may be a more regular occurrence, but that was the only time I've ever seen that on the boards (granted, I don't really travel along a wide variety of train routes).
MotherTemporary903@reddit
Those are all pretty good reasons to be honest.
Hot and sunny weather can cause the rails to expand and buckle or sag or even break. Strong wind brings the risk of trees and other items around the track falling onto the track. If you have no staff to drive the train then the train can't go anywhere and I'm pretty sure even you understand that if there's a landslide over the track then the train can't really move through it.
chrisridd@reddit
It must have been an enormous leaf.
SnakeBit74@reddit
I've had a train cancelled because the leaf-clearing train got stuck on leaves....
GrandDukeOfNowhere@reddit
Flying back from Canada our plane got delayed because it needed to be defrosted
hardboard@reddit
"bag on the overhead line between York & Doncaster" Was she still alive?
FairlyInconsistentRa@reddit
Railway worker here. Bag on the line can cause havoc.
Firstly, the overheads are energised at 25KV. You can't just get someone to reach up with some grabbers and dislodge it.
Secondly. If a train is running at line speed of 125mph there's a decent chance that the pantograph (the bit on the top of the train which touches the overhead lines) could snag on the bag and damage the pantograph. There's also a decent chance that said snagging could pull down the overhead wires too.
UnnecessaryRoughness@reddit
Last year I had a train delayed by an hour because the driver of my train was commuting to work on a different train, and his train was delayed.
Someone should have told him how unreliable it is to commute to work on British trains.
Emsicals@reddit
I used to work in a railway office, fairly rural location about 30 years ago.
We would get alerts on a fax machine if a train was going to be late. Once got one stating that the driver had refused to turn up because some important England match was on.
Chris_S_B@reddit
One of my first jobs, back in the early 90s, was doing refreshments on the trains along the west coast main line, between Wolverhampton and London Euston. This particular journey was the 5:19am from Wolverhampton, no delays at all until we got to Rugby. The driver had jumped off to go to the toilet and didn't come back. There was no sign of him. Turned out he was fed up of early starts and decided that day to walk away, no mention of it to anyone.
buy_me_a_pint@reddit
I seen some bus drivers drive past bus stops, because there were a load of football fans, we got on the stop before so we were okay.
My Uncle was delayed for like 8 hours because the captain had overslept as there were no replacement captain on stand by.
butwhatsmyname@reddit
20 years ago now, but I was sitting on a tube train that had been between stations for a few minutes when the driver came over the intercom, and said in the most beautiful, cheerful Carribbean accent "Ladies and gentlemen, we are very sorry for this delay. There is a doggie on the line."
We moved off again as soon as the doggie had been safely chased off the tracks.
ProfessorYaffle1@reddit
I was on a tube train once whe the annoncement ame "This train can't leavve until the doors are closed, and the doors won't close when they re obstructed, so if those of you hanging out of the doors could please get your arses into the carriage , we can move on"
becomingShay@reddit
Was delayed for an hour on a train once. First announcement was “sorry guys slight delay as we are waiting for the train in front to clear the way” next announcement an hour later “sorry guys, it seems like what we thought was a train in front front was just scenery so we apologise for the wait” - literally the train driver just mistook something in his field of vision for another train and decided to stop and wait, until he realised it wasn’t.
One time our flight was delayed because “we can’t seem to get one of the wings to function correctly, but once we do we’ll be on our way” - excuse me? Did we all slightly shit ourselves? Yes. But we also all very Britishly and politely stayed on the plane anyway!
gadgetboy123@reddit
I think you’re lying. There is no signalling system in the UK that works how you’ve described.
becomingShay@reddit
lol you can think I’m lying all you like. I’m not sure if you’re talking about the train or the plane lol
In regards to the train, it’s what he said. I’d heard similar announcements on the same long distance train, but usually they would reference waiting for a light system to change. This guy said he was waiting for another train to clear way. Seemed like a regular announcement until he announced that he’d made a mistake.
In terms of the plane. I’m not lying, I just don’t know the correct wording for the part that was broken. The announcement said the wings; but as someone else pointed out it was not the actual wing but parts attached to the wing.
Either way, both incidents did indeed take place. But it’s fine if you don’t want to believe them. It makes no difference to me.
SamVimesBootTheory@reddit
Hey as long as it wasn't the left phalange you were totally fine
becomingShay@reddit
Ugh I feel like I should know this reference but it’s going right over my head! In that way that once someone points it out to you, you kick yourself for missing it lol
SamVimesBootTheory@reddit
Friends
becomingShay@reddit
You’re a legend for this! Thank you 😂😂😂 I definitely should have known the reference. Appreciate the link. Thank you!
KeyLog256@reddit
The wings one is odd - he presumably meant flaps, slats, speedbrakes, etc as wings are just "there" and just work. He was trying to simplify it so as to make it more accessible, but ended up making it sound like far worse of an issue that it actually was and scaring the shit out of people!
becomingShay@reddit
Yep! You’re right it was the flappy bits on the side of the wings (which I’m sure has a much more accurate name other than flappy bit lol) Like you say the wing looked pretty solidly attached to me lol but yes, people were indeed panicking.
Ironically, but entirely unrelated to the take off delay. The landing was also a bit of the nightmare. We got an announcement that there would be a bit of turbulence, which was unpleasant, but obviously survivable. But then we had to either descend or ascend more than usual, I can’t recall. As the plane in front of us had just been struck by lightning and they were trying to reduce risk factors.
Then we had to circle the airport a few times as when the other plane, that had been hit by lightning, landed it had some sort of problem and had a bit of a crash landing.
Then just as we were about to land. They made an announcement saying we are about to land which is lucky for us as the plane has started letting water in, and we couldn’t have stayed in the air much longer, but the problem they were having with letting down the wheels had been fixed and we could finally land! - we had no idea the wheels weren’t opening!
All round a rather awful plane journey! Barcelona was lovely though!
ozzzymanduous@reddit
Fun fact leaves on the line is sometimes code for a suicide
gadgetboy123@reddit
Why are you making shit up? That’s nowhere near correct loool
add___13@reddit
They tend to be less cryptic nowadays with a usual ‘emergency services dealing with an incident’ which tells you everything you need to know
ThrustersToFull@reddit
“The wrong type of sunshine.” Yeah sure it was.
kazerniel@reddit
this almost sounds like the premise for a supernatural story :D
revolut1onname@reddit
Bus driver could only drive a certain type of bus due to severe travel sickness, and the one they'd sent him was of the "wrong type". I was astonished.
ProfessorYaffle1@reddit
My personal favourite was "This train has stopped due to an application of the brakes" I mean, I'm glad that the brakes work so applying the slows or stos the trai,n, but it's not really giving us much information!
(It took a whikle for us to start moving again so my guess is that that there was some kind of automated emergency stop and they had to investigate before they could move on)
TL_DRespect@reddit
It wasn’t in the UK, but when I was living in Japan I had a train delayed because it hit a bear.
Professional_Base708@reddit
Not necessarily weird but definitely surprising honest. Over the tannoy when we hadn’t moved for a while “I apologise for the delay, this is due to the chronic underfunding of railway maintenance” it gave people in the carriage a wry smile anyway. Including me.
So_Southern@reddit
2 hour delay on a train because the train driver needed a break
(I am aware there's laws around drivers breaks. Baffled as to why this wasn't considered and another driver could drive the train)
Viking-Bastard-XIV@reddit
Many years ago I was on a National Express coach and it was stuck in traffic because there were Geese on the A-road we were on. Traffic had stopped and we didn’t move for about 2 hours.
Police were on the scene and wouldn’t let us get off the bus to stretch our legs as “geese are dangerous and it’s for your safety”
rev-fr-john@reddit
While driving home one afternoon during a gale, a large shed escaped someones garden and was sliding along the road through a junction, for reasons that have no explanation I was momentarily surprised it didn't stop at the give way line despite my vehicle approaching, it just sailed out and stopped at the curb opposite, I went around and carried on with my journey.
Later that evening my wife (a bus driver) arrived home a told me that a local to us bus had been cancelled because of a shed in the road, and I said, "was it by chance a 308?" How do you know? Was her reply, so I took her to the truck and we watched the video, obviously she's more experienced with how sheds move around so she wasn't at all surprised it didn't stop at the give way line.
BandicootObjective32@reddit
It wasn't a cancellation but a delay to a train on an overground bit of the underground - someone was trying to escape the police so they'd climbed on top of the train and were running up and down - you could hear him running along.
Ok_Net4562@reddit
Was that recent? I had to get a bus from manchester piccaddilly coz tbey trains were all delayed coz there was a man hiding in the rafters.
Exactly32Penguins@reddit
My train was held for 20 minutes because someone shat on a seat and they had to clean it. Luckily I don't have a sense of smell because from everyone else's reactions it was bad.
Ok_Net4562@reddit
I was on a train that stopped for ages with no explanation. Eventually a new driver was shipped in and explained that we had just very nearly had a massive crash with another train and our original driver was having a massive panic attack because he just nearly killed a few hundred people and needed to go home.
MisterrTickle@reddit
Around November/December, tube train unable to move due to sun.
TonyArmasJr@reddit
"delayed due to UFO in the area"
-- (it was in China, so it was a bad translation)
TonyArmasJr@reddit
lots of flights are delayed in China, and usually it's a robo-voice that says ...
"flight is delayed...
due to...
delay"
Cheezel62@reddit
When I worked for Ansett in Melbourne we had to delay a flight because the pilot had arrived in his pyjamas. He forgot to get into his uniform when he left home and had to go back and get his uniform before he could fly.
Educational-Tap-5611@reddit
Someone jumped infront of a train in Slough infront of a massive crowd of people. The lady at the train station told me that happened.
Helga_Geerhart@reddit
The pilot forgot he had to work today. But he's on his way now.
Ok-Blackberry-3534@reddit
On a particularly stormy train journey in Devon, our trip was delayed due to a boat on the line.
BKY2200@reddit
The Elizabeth line train I was on got cancelled when I was on my way to the airport because of a swan on the line ... at Paddington. Apparently it happened again like a week later.
MintyMystery@reddit
I was once on a train with my ex, and young kiddie - about 3 - at the very last stop in the line. Everyone on board was ready to get off, standing hear the doors, as it slowly pulled in to the platform, and then the train stopped.
Turns out, someone had pulled the emergency brake.
My ex tried to convince me, for months afterwards, that I had told my kid to pull the emergency brake, like pressing the bell on a bus. I'm sure that I didn't do that. If I was telling my kid to do anything, it would have been to press the "open doors" button once it lit up. We got trains a lot! But no, my ex was laughing at me and calling me stupid about it for months. Now, I genuinely can't remember.
Gaslighting sucks, folks!
MintyMystery@reddit
But of course, I couldn't have. There are cameras on trains. If it was me or my kiddie that pulled the emergency brake, someone would have come to find us and told us off. And if the emergency brake had been pulled at all, doesn't that stop all of the other trains??
I don't even know. I try not to think about all of the drama of that ex..!
balconygreenery@reddit
Captain left the handbrake engaged on the plane when trying to move it.
Had to wait 3 hours while the checked the plane was safe to fly.
There was a lot of heckling when he came to explain the delay to us in the departure lounge.
BouncyBlueYoshi@reddit
I was once on a train that had to skip a station due to faults.
Another_Random_Chap@reddit
Got stuck on a train because some kids had managed to get hold of the key that guards have that gives access to the PA system and door controls. They started playing loud music and shouting abuse over the PA, and when we got to the station they kept overriding the guard when he tried to open the doors. Then, when they finally opened the doors so they could run away, they grabbed the bike of one of the passengers and threw it onto the third rail in front of the train.
dantownsend88@reddit
The official reason was shortage of drivers but saw the driver being lead away covered in sick and walking like he had shit himself
EasilyExiledDinosaur@reddit
Well... my plane was late because a kpop idol was meant to be on board and he was late. That was slightly annoying..
Unusual-Court-457@reddit
Not a direct answer to your question but it drives me mad when they give a non-reason. Usually “due to unforeseen circumstances”. No shit! It feels like they’re ticking a box of keeping people informed of a reason for the delay, while actually not informing us in any meaningful way.
To actually answer your question, I had a flight cancelled due to the Great Icelandic Volcano Eruption of 2010, so probably that
filbert94@reddit
Not sure if it's an urban legend or not but I've heard of an announcement that the "left falange" was broken, as some reference to Friends
Another_Random_Chap@reddit
easyJet had a spate of delayed aircraft flying in and out of Tel Aviv because one ultra-orthodox Jewish sect had heard that the aircraft would overfly a particular cemetery, so they started sealing themselves in large plastic bags before take-off & landing, so the spirits couldn't get them. The airline had to ask the head of the sect to tell them to stop doing it, after proving that the aircraft didn't overfly the cemetery.
SDHester1971@reddit
One Train up to London stopped for 15 Minutes at Waddon Station, the Intercom burst into life 'We would like to apologise for the Delay in this Service, it's due to some arseholes blocking the Doors'
Kralgore@reddit
Leaves on the line.
TotallyTapping@reddit
The tanker refuelling our plane broke down directly behind it, and it took them over an hour to locate a powerful enough tow truck to move it.
SamVimesBootTheory@reddit
When I was hearing from Edinburgh to Inverness I hopped on what I and several other people thought was the right train only to then be told 'If you're going to Inverness no you're not this train isn't going anywhere"
Hookton@reddit
Someone left a baby on the train.
DameKumquat@reddit
Bull escaped Chippenham livestock market by leaping over barriers and decided to run down the Great Western main line. The bullring in the market now has 6 foot not 4 foot railings.
Though my favourite was at Clapham Junction during delays, my train apparently had left Waterloo so should have turned up 5 min later. Platform guard: "You've lost the train? what do you mean, lost? Did someone pick it up and put it in their pocket? Ladies and gentlemen on platform 11 waiting for the 10.39 to Guildford, I'm afraid my idiot colleagues have lost it. If anyone sees an 8-carriage long NSE train, please let me know. (back on the phone) Does it answer to a name like Spot? Oh FFS..."
b-roc@reddit
On the London underground, I was travelling east to west from one far end to the other.
Soon after I got on, the train showed signs of delay. Slow travel, stopping for a long time at stations.
Eventually, the driver apologised citing "an issue with the train in front".
As we got into central, the reason changed to "there is a problem with this train.
Once through central, it became "unfortunately there is an issue with the train behind us".
I can only assume that no one knew what the issue was but it was annoying that the driver couldn't even remember his lie.
BigBananaBerries@reddit
I don't know if this applies but I was on a bus once & a tractor with those big front forks misjudged how far he needed to stop at a sideroad. The forks ripped right along the side of the bus like it was a tin can. Glass from the front doors went everywhere & there was a girl got her leg cut from sitting near where the forks tore the bus up.
Needless to say, the bus was no longer in operation & we had to get a transfer. Those fork things have gave me the fear ever since.
fiofo@reddit
Was only a few minutes, but we were on a train and the driver came on over the tannoy to ask if someone could "please give the doors in the second car a good kicking, as they're stuck open and preventing us from moving"
So a dutiful passenger bemusedly gave them a bit of a kick and it worked! They closed and we carried on!
Meincornwall@reddit
"Wrong type of snow" in the eurotunnel delaying 55,000 travellers has to be here
Candy_Lawn@reddit
flight was delayed, because they didn't have a pilot!
Sleepywalker69@reddit
No driver, even though they drove us half way to the destination and then the train drove off with nobody on it.
DeapVally@reddit
Yeah. I've had this one before. Thank the unions for that one. They time-out, so have to kick all the passengers off. But they can still physically drive the train, just not in service 🙄 It's even better when it's a last train! (Left Euston delayed, and then booted us all off in Wolverton. Marvellous)
sunheadeddeity@reddit
Thank the unions for putting measures in place to keep their members and the passengers safe? Or thank the privatised profit-taking under-investing shambolic train companies who won't train or rota enough staff in case they miss their earnings targets?
Just-Standard-992@reddit
The Newcastle Metro once got delayed system-wide because someone dropped their icecream cone
Andy26599@reddit
An unusually large passenger.
(well aware it's actually "unusually large passenger flow" but it's still funny.
JoeBagadonut@reddit
I had one delayed due to it being "too sunny".
In hindsight, I get why bright sunlight can impair the driver's vision and it was probably a valid reason for a delay but it's so fucking British for services to impacted on the rare occasion the sun actually peeks out from behind the clouds.
bopeepsheep@reddit
Sat at Winchester or somewhere like that while they tried to find the driver. He'd arrived at the station hours earlier and gone for a break, which is of course fine, but then he didn't return. There was a train, brought in by a different driver (who'd clocked off and gone home), but we weren't allowed on it until there was a driver.
He showed up eventually. He'd witnessed a crime of some sort and had had to talk to the police before they'd let him leave. Apparently "I've got a train to drive" isn't any better than "I've got a train to catch" when it comes to hurrying the process along.
OliB150@reddit
Not weird in itself, but coming back from France via the channel tunnel. Out crossing was delayed due whilst engineers investigated an issue with the train. A few minutes later it went dark and quiet for about 10 seconds, then came back on. Next announcement “we’re pleased to confirm the issue has been resolved and we will be departing shortly”. Didn’t inspire all that much confidence!
michaelscottdundmiff@reddit
Giant tortoise on the line in the south west was a belter. I always like the ‘this train is delayed because the train was delayed’ feels like they are just saying it is what it is
piggycatnugget@reddit
Had a flight delayed because some random guy had got on the wrong plane.
We'd all been through security, ticket checked before boarding and then they discovered someone had a ticket for the wrong plane. We all had to get off the plane to have our bags, passports and tickets checked again, while the plane was searched to make sure there was nothing suspicious left on there. It took hours and we weren't even allowed to nip to the loo, but they got us back on the plane mere minutes before the point they'd have to pay us all compensation. Bastards.
Adventurous-Shoe4035@reddit
On the way home from a concert train was stopped in a tunnel because there was a streaker on the tracks. Or a plane I was on was delayed by 2 hours because they’d lost the pilot - he was there then just wasn’t supposedly was a strange flight !
bacon_cake@reddit
We had a flight delayed because a baggage cart had struck the plane in the departure airport, the person making the announcement then said "the plane is delayed while repairs are taking place".
Cue a bunch of delayed travellers all murmuring with worried tones that they're about to get a plane that not 4hrs ago was crashed into and patched up.
Then the announcement comes again along the lines of "Don't worry, it's not this plane it's another one. We've borrowed this from the next flight to Greece so try to avoid them at the airport if you can because they aren't happy".
Ayman493@reddit
My train home from Blackburn town centre was once cancelled last minute because the driver's seat was broken. I heard a passenger yelling "drive standing up then" as I walked out to catch a bus instead.
Digital-Dinosaur@reddit
The train was cancelled due to the sun in the driver's eyes
earthworm_express@reddit
Train across rural Greece, stopped. After about an hour on blistering heat, a member of train crew walked through the carriage and advised us that there would a short delay as the train was on fire, but he hoped it would be out soon.
Not long after that, an elderly woman with a machette and a block of ice appeared from no where and started selling ice cubes that the passengers were putting into watermelons that they had picked from surrounding farmland.
-Po-Tay-Toes-@reddit
Not exactly a delay but the busses in Leeds often only do half of their route if they're running late... They literally get half way to the usual end of the route and turn around.
noturbackgroundtune@reddit
Classic short turn!
noturbackgroundtune@reddit
In Toronto two years ago, they permanently closed subway line 3 after a train was derailed.
This led to the very amusing announcements of "trains are not running on line 3 due to it being permanently closed".
Flibertygibbert@reddit
An evening flight from Edinburgh to Cardiff couldn't take off because there was a problem with the lock on one of the toilets and there was a delay in finding somebody to repairing
Eventually the pilot announced that the airport suggested cancelling but had compromised if the passengers were agreeable to us flying with one lockable door.
The flight was about an hour.
kolonmalm@reddit
Had to get off a train as they had to cancel it and turn back to London due to a fly infestation.
Even better, couldn't board a plane because part of the plane fell off.....
Bladeslap@reddit
I was on a train in California that stopped because it ran out of diesel, and they had to wait for the next train to push it to San Diego!
firefly232@reddit
On a train in rural Wales, single carriage train, single track line....
The train stopped in the middle of nowhere, waited for ages...until the announcement "we're sorry for the delay, a tree has fallen onto the track ahead of us"
Suddenly the ticket inspector come from the back of the train carrying an axe and wearing a high viz vest. A few lads offered to help but were gently rebuffed.
About 20 min later we were on the move again....
dregjdregj@reddit
The infamous one when I was a kid was "the wrong type of snow"
JamesL25@reddit
Train left on time…. But went the wrong way and had to go to the next big station before the driver went to the other end of the train so ended up rather late
Mischeese@reddit
Dorking Station winter 1990. I’m standing waiting for my usual train home (going towards Reigate/Redhill), and the automatic announcement said ‘train approaching’.
5 mins later the Train did not appear.
Confused sounding human announcer comes over that tannoy and said ‘We appear to have lost the train’.
Train did not turn up and I had to wait for the later one in the snow. 35 years later I’m still wondering how they lost the train!
TheFloatingCamel@reddit
15 years from now that train will pull into the station, no one has aged a day...
X-Files theme tune plays
Mischeese@reddit
The Box Hill Triangle!
mr-tap@reddit
Too many crushed millipedes made the line slippery (back when I lived in Western Australia)
https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/wa/portuguese-millipedes-suspected-in-clarkson-train-collision-ng-1ac4c3bed117fc458c3ec4cb6ec1669d.amp
HerbTP@reddit
I was on a plane that was rerouted because there was 1mm of ice on the runway (what do really cold countries do?)
TheFloatingCamel@reddit
Invest in the correct equipment to keep the runway open, usually.
Pandamonkeum@reddit
Flight delayed overnight due to cows loose on the runway.
SkullKid888@reddit
Leaf on track.
LJ161@reddit
Sat on a train just outside reading station for 2 hours on my first day at a new job because there was a suspected bomb on the tracks.
Turns out it was an empty shoe box that had blown onto the tracks.
TheFloatingCamel@reddit
That's one of those things where you are thinking it's highly unlikely to be a bomb, but at the same time it has happened in the past so you can't take the chance.
badmother@reddit
Not weird, just very scary:
"The train in front of us has derailed in the tunnel"
It was a freight train, but I've no idea if the train was at fault, or the tracks. I've always presumed if we had gone before it, we would have derailed instead.
kylehyde84@reddit
Last year flying to Barbados, the flight was delayed for 5 hours. Once we boarded and sat down we got told to disembark again, we found out back in the terminal that the crew would have gone over their hours by about 20 mins and refused overtime so the flight ended up cancelled. Asshats
gloomsbury@reddit
Nah, good for them. It's the fault of the airline for messing their staff around, not the crew.
Bacon4Lyf@reddit
And so everyone else gets punished
seriousrikk@reddit
More likely they would have hit the legal maximum they were allowed to work without a break.
rocuroniumrat@reddit
Unexploded WW2 bomb is probably up there 😅
Paddlinginpoon@reddit
Leafs
Sweevo1979@reddit (OP)
See, I always thought that one was a bit odd until I asked a rail engineer why.
They get crushed under the wheels and form a lubricant layer on the top bit of the track which causes the wheels to not keep a steady contact with the track so a train wheel might slip off or worse, derail. It's like black ice and an oil spill for them.
Paddlinginpoon@reddit
Yep. I just love watching people on the platform go mad about “fucking leafs”
172116@reddit
It's less the fact that it's leaves and more the fact that they are a reasonably foreseeable risk at certain times of year, and a bit more forward planning wouldn't go amiss.
wearezombie@reddit
Not a lot of forward planning you can do for what is essentially nature at work, aside from slowing train speeds and adjusting timetables. They’re testing jet washing trains now too. You can put a coat on but it’ll still be raining at the end of the day
Liverpool7-0Utd@reddit
Which turn the rail into essentially ice. So means the train won’t stop in time.
Paddlinginpoon@reddit
I know. Just sounds pathetic
Valuable-Wallaby-167@reddit
"The driver slept in".
We were waiting about 2 hours. It wasn't even morning. The person doing the announcement was very obviously done with this guy.
PurplePlodder1945@reddit
Where I live the most used excuse is ‘leaves on the line’
wearezombie@reddit
Once I was on a train that got cancelled because it hit a swan. Sounded ridiculous until I saw the front of the driver’s carriage - fully destroyed the windscreen, blood and feathers everywhere :( Luckily the driver was fine, can’t imagine the swan was though.
just_some_guy65@reddit
They give reasons? I thought the standard was "it's cancelled, deal with it".
bluejackmovedagain@reddit
Police got on at the bus stop and asked the driver to halt the bus while they checked something (not uncommon on that route), then after a few minutes back and forth the bus driver was taken off the bus in handcuffs. One of the police officers then came back and said "err... I suppose you should all probably get off and wait for the next bus". This was not accepted as a reason to be late for school.
FormalHeron2798@reddit
Bus didn’t stop as “sorry but to keep to the timetable we cant stop at all are stops”
jenangeles@reddit
Sofa on the line.. which apparently wasn’t the only thing that the guy making the announcement had seen because he just sighed very heavily after making the announcement and said “you know Durham students”
mhoulden@reddit
Nudist on the line between London and Ipswich. "Bonus points if you can see them"
No catering on a Transpennine train because the steward slept in
Train delayed because the driver got the key stuck in the ignition, according to the guard
Thankfully not all the same train
Confident-Bug-201@reddit
An enterprising group of individuals had stolen a load of copper cabling at West Drayton. No trains out of Paddington for the rest of the day.
pumpkin-i@reddit
This happened in Romania, someone stole the tracks…
Pancovnik@reddit
District line, 15 min, back in 2015, because of suspicious shoe
nomad_2009@reddit
Got stuck national express bus in London once, the bus driver made an announcement if we, the passengers, were wondering why is there such a heavy traffic, there are hundred naked cyclists on the road. He wasn't lying, apparently they do it once a year.
dwhite21787@reddit
On a train, in the middle of nowhere, we stopped. After a few minutes we were told not to open any doors; an escapee from prison was threatening the railway staff with an axe, police were en route. The axeman cut a brake line, and all told we were 90 minutes late.
Fresh_Relation_7682@reddit
"The destination airport is on fire" - Catania, Italy 2023.
Fun fact, the airport we were diverted to (Palermo), had to close a week later due to wildfires.
deadliftbear@reddit
A swan on the line, near Kingston-upon-Thames
hhfugrr3@reddit
There was a fire at the station. There was a very small fire in a small office bin. I could see it. There was obviously never any risk of it spreading. It wasn't near where my train was waiting at the far end of the platform. They then made people walk back from the train we were already at, past the fire, to wait on the concourse... closer to the fire. They then cancelled the train. We could have escaped the tiny fire by just getting on the train and driving away.
JPrimrose@reddit
My mother’s train to York a few week ago was delayed because they were “struck by a swan”
two_beards@reddit
No luck catching them swans?
MiskonceptioN@reddit
It's just the one swan, actually.
thatscotbird@reddit
Trampoline on the line caused a full day of cancellations on my local train line once
snakeoildriller@reddit
Dead cow stuck on the line just outside our local station which was at the time a single-track line, thereby blocking "up" and "down" trains. Poor beast got its hoof wedged in the live rail gap and electrocuted itself.
Mc_and_SP@reddit
A volcano erupted in Bradford
eriometer@reddit
A bus was cancelled due to a “technical incident”.
Local social media was full of pictures of the bus engine engulfed in raging flames.
SirGeorgeAgdgdgwngo@reddit
Last train home on NYE cancelled mid journey because some arsehole booted one of the doors of it's hinges. The train driver told everyone that they were sending a "spare" train which I found rather hard to believe given the time and date.
Ended up paying about £60 quid for a taxi.
PixieBaronicsi@reddit
I’ve had a plane delayed because of a “crew issue”. Only later did I learn that it was because both pilots were arrested for being drunk.
gigglesmcsdinosaur@reddit
I mean there was the whole Eyjafjallajökull eruption in 2010. It's not unreasonable but as far as having your flight cancelled, it's a pretty strange reason to be told!
Sweevo1979@reddit (OP)
Yeah, I was meant to fly to Sweden the weekend after that eruption. Got there by virtue of a change in wind direction moving the ash cloud but it was definitely a disruptive one.
KermitsPuckeredAnus2@reddit
Remember the drunk politician who fell off the train at a short platform? Yup, I was on that train. Bellend.
Zealousideal-Sail893@reddit
Trains cancelled because of the wrong kind of snow..
Melodic-Lake-790@reddit
Mine is always that it’s delayed by a late running train, behind it.
They have to stop and let the “fast” trains leap frog them
add___13@reddit
Annoyingly common to be honest
Melodic-Lake-790@reddit
I just don’t get it, sometimes I’m half an hour late home because the train behind is late
add___13@reddit
The joys of the railway, if you’re on a headcode with a lower priority to an express service you’ll always be held to wait for them
parklife980@reddit
Train cancelled due to cat on roof
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-56271478
thisaccountisironic@reddit
not a public transit delay but this reminds me of when the entire city had a power cut because a pheasant flew into a powerline
TheMightyShrub@reddit
“This train is running approximately 25 minutes late due to … er … extreme lateness”
highrouleur@reddit
I was on a lizzie line train heading east from Stratford that stopped in a station for ages. Eventually the driver came over the PA system, "sorry for the delay, we hit a pigeon coming into the station and we've had to reboot the electrical system to be able to move again"
Jlaw118@reddit
Got delayed by an hour or two to Budapest from Leeds Bradford years ago.
Nobody was telling us a thing but then when we were taxiing to the runway, the pilot apologised over the tannoy and told us it was due to a missing screw
cocoaqueen@reddit
Slippery rails in Brighton.
add___13@reddit
It sounds silly, but it’s genuinely a serious issue for delays
katie-kaboom@reddit
Fire. No, seriously, the train was on fire. (They put it out, I assume, because an hour later we moved off.)
opjm000@reddit
A driver getting a train out of the sidings in the morning. Risking a fart and losing.
Had to call up to say they needed to go home.
koombot@reddit
Anyone else flown out of Scatsta in Shetland back in the day? They had some belters. Ducks on the runway was one. There used to be a facebook group called "Scatsta Airporta big book of bullship excuses" but it got shut down.
I believe once they cancelled flights because most of the fire team called in sick because one of them had a wedding the night before.
crucible@reddit
Train cancelled because a boat collided with a railway bridge over a river
https://www.deeside.com/wrexham-to-bidston-line-blocked-after-boat-collides-with-bridge-on-river-dee/
Savage_Tech@reddit
The train is stuck in reverse.
Ok_Raspberry5383@reddit
Recently had to reboard another easyJet flight because the right spoiler/airbrake wouldn't come down. Sat there for a couple of hours whilst the pilot tried the old trick of turning it off and on again, that didn't work, then some engineers came out and tried to zip tie it down but that didn't work, so they towed a new plane over for us. Was quite amusing to watch
Howzitgoanin@reddit
“Adverse weather” on a sunny day, 18 degrees and little wind
hawkesey@reddit
Flight was cancelled 20 minutes before it was due to leave due to "no pilot"
The flight was at 7:00am and we were rebooked on the 6:30pm flight as the alternative