A number of services between Aberdeen and Dundee have been cancelled after a train struck a cow earlier today.
The 2.52pm service running between Aberdeen and London hit the animal in Laurencekirk, and caused services across Scotland to be axed.
A ScotRail said the collision had caused “a fault” and that staff are on the scene working to get the train on the move.
The cow died following the crash.
The 3.33pm service between Aberdeen and Glasgow Queen Street was terminated and instead started from Perth, while the 5.36pm train between Aberdeen and Glasgow was completely scrapped.
Other journeys between Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow were also disrupted or subject to changes.
Services may not be back up and running until 7.30pm.
Services running from Inverurie to Glasgow and Edinburgh have also been affected by the incident.
A spokesman for Network Rail said: “A southbound Virgin train struck a cow on the line south of Laurencekirk at around 3.30pm
“The collision has caused some minor damage to train and fitters are on-site working to get the train back on the move.
“We can’t run trains through the area at the moment while staff are on the track.
“We’re working as quickly as we can to remove the train and reopen the southbound line.
“The incident is causing significant disruption to services at the moment and buses are being utilised to keep passengers moving between Dundee and Aberdeen.”
A Virgin Trains spokeswoman said: “There are currently delays to our services between Dundee and Aberdeen.
“We’re sorry for the inconvenience, anyone travelling with us this evening is advised to check our website or Twitter page for the latest updates.”
Delays are expected until 7.30pm.
NEW: Due to cattle on the railway near #Laurencekirk, services between Glasgow/Edinburgh and Aberdeen/Inverurie are disrupted. ^CT pic.twitter.com/VRmjP0t0ts
— ScotRail (@ScotRail) May 31, 2017
If you’re at a station affected by #Laurencekirk disruption, please speak to the station Help Point for assistance. ^CT pic.twitter.com/tTLaFvDwEi
— ScotRail (@ScotRail) May 31, 2017
UPDATE: #Laurencekirk. Line towards Dundee from Aberdeen is blocked. Checks being carried out to see if we can operate line North at mo. ^CT
— ScotRail (@ScotRail) May 31, 2017
UPDATE: #Laurencekirk. We’ve just heard @Virgin_TrainsEC have an engineer on way to train at mo to help w/ repair. More info soon. ^CT
— ScotRail (@ScotRail) May 31, 2017
