Learning to drive a train takes a hell of a lot of skill, determination and focus.
Train drivers constantly have to be on alert for anything that could fall onto the railway tracks.
But you could imagine the surprise Stefan Hug had when he was in the middle of a lesson and saw a puppy on the tracks.
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The east London bloke had to stop a Southern service from Beckenham Junction to London Bridge this week after seeing the young dog running alongside the train.
Despite only starting his training last month, his instincts kicked in and he was able to avert a disaster.
“I think because you talk about it so many times the procedure just kicks in and you just know you need to bring the train to a stand, take a deep breath and think logically the next thing to do,” Stegan said.
“Of course, that was contacting the signaller to get permission and authorisation to do anything before we step outside and try to retrieve the puppy.”
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They were able to pick the puppy up and put it on the nearby platform.
They fed the female pupper some ham as authorities went in search of the animal's owner.
Stefan was praised by his trainer, Mr Timmins, who said the trainee did everything he was meant to do in a situation like this.
“Stefan alerted me that he’d seen a puppy running next to the front of the train. He immediately put it into the correct braking procedure to bring the train to a stand,” said Mr Timmins.
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“It was really good to see Stefan do those procedures correctly, and I’m really proud of him.”
Mr Timmins hopes that the incident serves as a reminder to dog owners to keep their pets safe on railway platforms.
“It just reinforces the point of making sure if people have dogs on the platforms, they should be on the leash all the time and to keep pets near to you,” he said.
“It’s so easy for dogs to run off and run on the rails and it’s very hard to get them back.
“It does put a lot of people in danger and it’s a big operation to get them off the tracks.
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“Hopefully, this is a good wake-up call to keep all of your animals close to you on leashes whilst you’re on railway property.”
Topics: Animals
Stewart Perrie