Fighting crows halt trains

PATNA, India (Reuters) - Train services were disrupted in parts of eastern India for three hours after flocks of agitated crows snapped overhead powerlines when railway workers tried to clear their nests, officials said on Monday.

They said crows and ravens often flapped their wings so hard while fighting that they tripped railway powerlines in eastern Bihar state. To solve the problem, rail staff tried to clear nests built on overhead wires on Sunday.

But this agitated the birds so much and they flapped their wings so furiously that it caused a short-circuit.

"Suddenly there was a short-circuit and overhead wires snapped, disturbing the power lines which also affected the signaling system", railway official Satyendra Kumar told Reuters.

"We had to work for three hours to restore the power lines."

At least a dozen passenger trains were stranded while the nest clearing operation went on.

India's vast rail network carries more than 15 million people every day on some 7,000 passenger trains.

(Writing by Krittivas Mukherjee)