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Firefighters have said the train could easily have been derailed.
British Transport Police are trying to find out how the cattle came to be on the main line between Exeter and Plymouth.
Railtrack is responsible for maintaining fencing along either side of the track.
Sixteen cows were killed when the train hit them at about 60 mph.
 The Royal Mail train was travelling at 60mph |
The driver was unhurt and there were no other people on the train, which was travelling between Reading and Plymouth.
Carcases were strewn along half a mile of track, blocking the line.
Fire crews from Totnes and a line clearance team were called to the scene.
It is thought the cattle escaped from their field near the sewage works in Totnes and wandered about two miles up the line before they were hit by the train.
Emergency services say it was lucky that the train was not derailed.
Engineers for the train operating company, EWS, are looking into the scale of damage caused.
Railtrack is also conducting its own investigation.
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