MEDIA STATEMENT
For immediate release
18 June, 2012

Staff help seal cross tracks

On Friday afternoon a work crew near the Wellington Rail Yards were surprised to find their maintenance work was being observed by a seal who had ventured near the tracks.

“We were working away and then noticed the seal watching us from under the motorway overpass. As we moved along the track doing our work it followed our path from the other side of the tracks,” says Traction Electrician Caleb Scott.

“We notified Train Control to let them know just in case the seal made a mad dash onto the tracks.”

“The seal seemed happy enough watching us from a distance but then decided to make its way across four tracks so we took action to guide it back over to the underpass.”

“At first he was easy to be guided and seemed to just follow us but then we needed to gently use a broom stick to guide him in the right direction.”

“As we were doing this we hand signalled a couple of trains to slow down and around three passenger trains had to stop briefly while he made it over the tracks.”

“Albert, as we named him, then lay down under the underpass and fell asleep. We reckon he must have been tired after all that activity.”

The seal did not cause any delays to services. It is assumed the seal was taking refuge from stormy harbour waters.

ENDS

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