It beats leaves on the line.

Passengers faced delays of up to 40 minutes after a swan decided to sit in the middle of the track at a busy junction near Rochester railway bridge.

The driver immediately called the signal office after spotting the bird perched on the rail on his approach to Sole Street.

Network Rail workers turned off the power and scrambled on to the line to persuade the swan to spread its wings.

Eventually the 13.05pm from Dover Priory to Victoria was able to continue its journey.

Rupert Atterbury-Thomas, Southeastern spokesman, said the track invasion on Wednesday afternoon caused knock-on problems with services running about 30 minutes late.

He said: “Swans are protected birds, so you can’t just run one over.

"Everything was back to normal by 4pm.”