A PASSENGER train was righted after derailing in a collision with wandering cattle and the trackside "slaughterhouse" it left behind cleared of up to 65 dead cattle early yesterday morning.
Ontrack communications adviser Kevin Ramshaw said track engineers used specialist jacks to right the train that was carrying 57 passengers when
it collided with the cattle 10km south of Masterton soon after 5pm on Sunday.
None of the passengers were injured in the incident although at least 29 cows, all of which were in calf, were killed outright in the collision or destroyed soon afterward.
He said the first of three early-morning commuter services out of Masterton was 10 minutes late, which were to have been replaced by buses for the expected 700 passengers if the track remained unclear yesterday.
The second two services ran on time, he said, despite a 10km/h speed restriction on the stretch of track where the derailment occurred just south of the Wiltons Road level crossing.
The speed restriction was to be lifted once an examination of the track and rails was completed, he said.
