Overview
- BVG halted U3 service between Gleisdreieck and Warschauer Straße after a live swan settled in the track bed and told riders service would resume only once the bird was removed.
- Firefighters dispatched to Gitschiner Straße lifted the swan from the rails without injury and released it into the nearby Landwehrkanal, which cleared the way for trains to run again.
- Transport staff said they could not safely handle the animal and called in emergency services, reflecting standard practice when wildlife enters the rail corridor.
- Passengers largely stayed calm during the delay, though some left the train to avoid being late for work or appointments.
- In a separate rescue the same day, police removed a weakened swan from a fifth‑floor balcony on Paul‑Lincke‑Ufer and took it to a veterinary clinic, a contrast to February reports of dead swans in the canal linked to avian influenza.