30 sheep killed after flooding forced them on to rail line
A flock of sheep fleeing rising floodwater strayed on to a Perthshire rail line and were struck by a train.
- By Alan Richardson
- Published in the Courier : 05.12.11
- Published online : 05.12.11 @ 04.13pm
The accident caused considerable disruption to rail services on Tuesday, taking nearly three hours for around 30 sheep carcasses to be removed from the tracks.
An investigation is under way to establish how the animals gained access to the line.
The accident happened when the 8.42pm Aberdeen to Glasgow Queen Street train struck sheep at a level crossing near Blackford.
A ScotRail spokesman said: ''The flock had strayed onto both lines. Two further trains were delayed until the line was cleared around 11.30pm.''
A Network Rail spokesman said: ''Following the incident railway staff worked as quickly as possible to remove the animals from the line and return services to normal.
''It is believed that the sheep gained access to the railway via a nearby level crossing.''
The SSPCA said it was not alerted to the incident, indicating that the animals involved were killed outright.
The incident happened on the day flooding hit Perthshire — rising floodwaters which engulfed low-lying agricultural land, forcing the sheep to take safety on higher ground near the railway.
Torrential rain overnight into Tuesday caused problems throughout the area, closing roads and increasing river levels dramatically.
A spokesman for NFU Scotland, the farming union, said: ''Incidents like this are a fairly uncommon occurrence. I have not heard of something like this for a couple of years.
''Farmers who have animals near railways passing through their land work closely with Network Rail in keeping fences up to date.''
He added: ''A lot of time is put in by farmers and Network Rail to avoid incidents like this. It is upsetting for the driver of the train, the people on the train and for the farmer to lose livestock like this.''
The animals' owner is unknown, and there was speculation that the animals had strayed some distance before being killed.
Duncan McNicol (50), who farms between Dunblane and Kinbuck, said: ''Prices of sheep and lambs is at the highest it has been all year — £85 to £90 per lamb — so it is the worst possible time.
''The area around Kinbuck floods because of the proximity of the River Allan and if I had not moved quickly I could have had 150 sheep drowned.''
06.08pm - 05.12.2011 Joyce - Perth, Scotland Report This
It is not the first time a train I have been on has been stopped or slowed down by sheep on the track in this area.
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