This morning at Rochford Station, a crowd looked on as the 7:54 train crept into the station, just moments away from colliding with a mischievous husky puppy and the brave woman who dared rush onto the tracks to coax it back onto the platform.

 

Having not been present at the scene from the beginning, Anita E, a St Bernard's student, filled me in on the events of the morning. Anita detailed how a woman had made her way onto platform one with a young and rather excitable husky. The dog was free from its leash and rushing around on the platform, with its owner half-heartedly attempting to call it back. However, rather than heeding the call, the puppy dashed from the platform and onto the tracks, much to the concern of everyone at the station. A large crowd gathered at the edge of the platform, calling for the dog to return to safety.

By this time, it was about two minutes until the train for platform one was due to arrive. Fortunately, the dog's owner acted quickly and asked the staff at the station to tell the train driver to stop the train. When the train did arrive, it did so with caution, moving very slowly and stopping at the top of the platform, encouraging the puppy to make its way to the other end of the station. It did not, however, return to the safety of the platform. Instead, it bounded further into the mist.

Anita and the rest of the crowd on the opposite platform assumed that the woman would wait for the train to leave, then retrieve her dog. Much to their surprise, however, she boarded the train.

As it slowly pulled away from the station, the train stopped for a moment at the spot where the dog had been standing. Then, seconds later, it resumed its slow exit. Many assumed that the train had paused to allow the woman to retrieve her dog. Alas, she had left the young pup to fend for itself.

When I arrived at the station at about 8:00, the dog was nowhere to be seen. Minutes passed. Then, a flash of movement. The husky pup was still on the tracks! Much to the relief of the onlookers, the little dog began making its way back towards the platform, meandering across the tracks with a playful gait. The atmosphere felt less than playful, however – the train for platform two was approaching. Watching with anxious stomachs, we prayed that the dog would return to the platform safely. Alas, the allure of the shining green lights beyond the platform sent the dog bounding away again, towards the train. The crowd watched with pounding hearts and a feeling of morbid anticipation.

But then, a hero stepped up. One woman, frustrated by the delay and lack of action from the train staff to retrieve the dog, turned to me and my friends - “look after this, please”, she said, gesturing to a large buggy packed with a collection of toys and games. Without another word, she sprinted to the end of the platform and we watched as she descended onto the tracks. The train crept closer. There were shouts of disbelief as the woman crossed the tracks to meet with the dog. Still the train did not halt. Reaching her hand out, the woman greeted the puppy, who approached eagerly. The train finally stopped, just moments away from colliding with the woman and the dog. The woman picked up the adventurous pup and carried it to the safety of the ticket office. The entire station seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. With the dog safely removed from the train tracks, the 7:54 pulled into the station at last. It was only twenty minutes delayed!

 

One woman insisted that the owner of the dog be fined a huge sum for allowing her dog to run free at a train station. Anita agreed, arguing that she should be “severely fined.” She also warned, “if you're going to go to a train station with an excitable, big dog, at least have the decency to put it on a lead. You never know if someone might be allergic to dogs, or genuinely scared of dogs - and also, the dog could easily go onto the tracks, like it did today.” She found the behaviour of the owner to be “unacceptable” and considered it cruel that she endangered her dog by allowing it to run onto the tracks.

 

As the woman returned to collect her buggy, we thanked her for the incredible feat she'd performed – venturing onto the tracks to retrieve a dog she had no connection to was an amazing deed. She simply felt she had to prevent the train from being delayed any further.

The bravery people can find when faced with train delays is truly a wonder.