Nature

STORY: Badgers have caused havoc after digging homes under this Dutch train trackLocation: Esch, NetherlandsTrain services have been halted due to safety concernsDate: March 21, 202350,000 passengers are facing delays, adding 30-60 minutes to their travel times Experts are worried that badgers’ tunnels could weaken the ground under the tracks [Aldert Baas, Spokesperson/ ProRail] “The problem of the digging badgers in the environment of tracks is a real problem because of the safety, so we have to remove them from the tracks and that’s difficult because they like to be in the environment of the railways.”The species is protected by Dutch law and must be removed before repairs can begin The company aims to create a new home nearby for the badgers and block their way back “How long it’s going to take to remove the badgers from the railway to the other spot? We don’t know exactly. Badgers don’t read papers or instructions and so on, so they will go their own way. We have to wait for that. And it will take one or two weeks and then they leave hopefully. And after that we can repair the situation. So, everything is ready for safe rail traffic.”