A swan on the tracks at Pudding Mill Lane caused chaos on the DLR line during rush-hour on Monday morning.
The line was suspended between Bow Church and Stratford while TfL staff attended to the wildlife incident, understood to involve a swan.
Social media reports claimed passengers were forced to leave the train and the line was later suspended.
The suspension comes as thousands of Londoners made their commutes into the city on Monday morning.
DLR services from Stratford to Canary Wharf currently suspended due to a swan on the track at Bow Church 🦢
— Ross Lydall (@RossLydall) August 24, 2026
On its website, TfL reported: “Docklands Light Railway: Severe delays between Stratford and Canary Wharf while we remove an animal from the track at Pudding Mill Lane.”
The birds have been spotted on railway tracks on several occasions, often causing widespread delays. For example, in September last year, the Mildmay line was suspended for over an hour while a railway employee coaxed the injured swan from the tracks.
Unmarked “mute” swans, the UK’s resident species, are protected and killing or injuring one can constitute criminal damage or a wildlife-related offence.
Network Rail announced plans in 2024 to team up with The Swan Sanctuary in Shepperton in a bid to train rail workers on how to safely remove swans from tracks.
But swans aren’t the only animal that cause delays on the UK’s rail network.
In the year to March 2024, Network Rail reported as many as 1,432 incidents, with offending animals including donkeys, mice, hedgehogs, and deer.
Across the operator’s Wessex route, which includes routes from London Waterloo to Surrey, Berkshire, Dorset, Devon, and Wiltshire, swans were responsible for the largest number of delays to passengers.
In a statement, Helen Gregory, TfL’s Head of Operations for the DLR, said: "We apologise for any disruption to customer journeys earlier this morning, due to a swan on the track near Bow Church station. Services in the area were suspended while a trained swan rescue team attended the scene, safely rescued the swan and returned it to a suitable local habitat.
"I’d like to thank our customers for their patience and understanding."
