More than 130 passengers were left stranded this morning when a train broke down after hitting a pheasant.
An early morning Inverness to Aberdeen service was halted after the incident near Kennethmont, Aberdeenshire.
Scotrail said the incident caused an air leak on the train, bringing the train to a halt between Huntley and Insch.
Arrangements were made to take the passengers to Huntly and buses helped them complete their journey.
Services on the line were cancelled as a result.
Scotrail stated on their Twitter feed: "Due to animals on railway between Huntley and Insch services between Inverness and Aberdeen may be cancelled or delayed. Disruption expected till 10:00."
A ScotRail spokeswoman added: "As this happened on a section of double track, we brought a train alongside and transferred all passengers to take them to Huntly.
"We've arranged buses to help them complete their journeys."
Passenger Graham Watt tweeted: "Stuck on the train between Huntly and Insch, hard to believe but the train has hit a bird and is now broken, best excuse yet."
"Train failed as it hit a bird, are they taking the p***?"
Fellow passenger Hannah Adams added: "The shock I felt when I heard my train had hit a peasant, only to realise they actually said pheasant! Woops, always read the fine print."
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