Passengers in lucky escape as 80 mph train hits cattle (From Western Telegraph)

Passengers in lucky escape as 80 mph train hits cattle

EIGHT COWS which wandered onto tracks were killed by a train, scaring passengers and disrupting services for hours last week.

The accident happened between St Clears and Whitland, at Ffynnongain, at around 2.30 last Tuesday afternoon.

The train, which had been travelling at around 80 mph, was the 9 am from Birmingham to Pembroke Dock. It was minutes from its scheduled stop at Whitland when the driver was forced to brake suddenly after spotting the cattle. But the train was unable to stop in time and hit the animals. Four managed to escape.

Passenger George Foxwell and his wife Elizabeth, who were on the train, said: We had been returning home after visiting our daughter in the Midlands when the accident happened, he explained. We were only about five minutes away from our last stop and suddenly there was a terrific bang and lots of shuddering.

I honestly thought that we had come off the tracks. It was very frightening, I was in the war and that was scary but this was quite terrifying, said the 79-year-old.

When the train finally came to a standstill - and that takes some time - the guards came to tell us that there had been cattle on the line. I dont know how many were there, and I didnt care to look.

George had been travelling with his 75-year-old wife, Elizabeth on the five-and-a-half hour journey from Nuneaton to Whitland. Elizabeth suffers from angina and I was very concerned of the shock of the situation may have on her. But she stayed calm and it was only later we both realised how lucky we both were, he said.

The staff on the train were wonderful and very informative. They told us exactly what was going on and I take my hat off to then all. I felt really sorry for the driver because there was just nothing he could have done - it was just totally unexpected.

George and Elizabeth, who live at Glandwr, near Crymych, had their journey delayed by just over three hours while engineers made sure the train was safe to continue its journey.

A spokesman for the Wales and West train company, which runs the service, confirmed that eight cows were killed.

Eight cows had strayed onto the line and the train struck them. There was some damage to the train and there were delays and disruptions on the line until around 6.30 that evening. No passengers were injured. The train was disbanded at Whitland station and passengers had to change trains to resume their journey to Pembroke.

He added: Although cows straying onto the tracks is not a common occurrence, we have seen cases of it before. At the moment we are trying to find out how the cows managed to get onto the line.