RAIL chiefs have launched an investigation after five cows were struck by a train and killed on the Ribble Valley rail line between Ramsgreave and Langho stations.

Mystery surrounds how the cows got on the line and where they came from, a spokesman for Railtrack said.

The cows were struck by the last passenger train travelling at 40mph at around 11pm on September 15.

They were killed instantly and pulled on to the embankment by Railtrack workers who were called out by the train driver.

The train, which was virtually empty, was delayed for over two hours and the passengers were ferried by taxi to their destinations.

The cows were later buried at the scene of accident in a clear-up operation that continued until 5am.

The front of the train suffered slight damage after one cow got stuck underneath and Railtrack has now launched an investigation into the incident.

"Clearing the line was quite a task. We don't know who the cows belonged to and what they were doing on the line, but are making inquiries," a spokesman said.

A spokesman for the National Farmers' Union said the cows could have been worth a few hundred or a few thousand pounds, depending on the breed, but he had not received any complaints of missing cows or notification of the incident.

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