Two Tyne and Wear Metro operations managers have been praised for rescuing a lost dog, which had strayed onto the Metro’s busiest stretch of line.

On 19th June, a Rhodesian Ridgeback dog was spotted running across the Armstrong Bridge and in Jesmond Dene, before ending up on the tracks of the Metro between South Gosforth and Ilford Road.

The dog, Bobby, had escaped from where he was being looked after by a dog sitter in Gosforth. His owner, Barry Churchill, had just arrived at work at around 9 am when he learned that Bobby had escaped. Barry placed an appeal on Facebook, and after a customer recognised Bobby, they alerted Metro Staff.

Operations managers Louis Meach and Alan Hudson were on duty at the time, and managed to get Bobby safely off the lines by enticing him with some chicken. Trains in the area were cautioned to run at lower speeds, while Louis and Alan went onto the tracks, put a lead on Bobby, and walked him back to safety to be reunited with Barry.

“I was at South Gosforth station when a customer said there was a dog on the line. I looked around, and I saw him running down the track. We reacted quickly. We got on the next train, and the driver was able to proceed at caution. We then got out on the lines to look for Bobby on foot. We found him near an access gate and enticed him with the food. Alan managed to get him on the lead, and we took him off the line quickly after that.”

“It was a relief as it could have been a lot worse. There was a real risk he could have been struck by a train. He’s a lovely dog. He was pleased to see us. It was satisfying to know we had rescued him. It was all in a day’s work. As operations managers, we are trained to go on to Metro lines to deal with incidents like this. Barry was thrilled to see him. It is lovely that he came back to thank us in person. We should also thank our own colleague, whose chicken we took from his packed lunch to entice the dog.”

Metro Operations Manager Louis Meach

At Crufts Dog Show last year, leaflets were handed out giving information and advice about safety at level crossings, and in June, Network Rail closed a foot crossing in South Wales because of continued safety issues with people crossing the line.