Japan train workers save turtles from grisly death

Turtles can be seen walking in shallow trenches under railway tracks at JR West's facility in Kobe, western Japan on November 24, 2015. - West Japan Railway/AFP

Tokyo (AFP) - Railway workers in Japan have devised an ingenious scheme to prevent daredevil turtles from meeting a grisly end -- and delaying trains -- while crossing train tracks.

The slow-moving reptiles in western Nara prefecture were responsible for 13 disruptions to train services between 2002 and 2014 after tumbling into the spaces between rail switches and getting squashed, according to West Japan Railways officials.