Murder mystery on Stalin's 'Arctic Express' - 70 reindeer slain, but how did they die?

WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES!

Reindeer farmers claim some 70 reindeer were killed on the 'Dead Road' line of one of the world's most remote railways. 

Gruesome pictures show the bloody scene and there are allegations that such destruction has happened before. 

Police are reportedly now investigating the death of the antlered animals. 

Evidently they were on the track when a train - it is not clear if it was passenger or freight - mowed down the deer. 

Sceptics ask why the timid deer would have remained on the snowy track when the trundling train approached, and not scattered long before the engine got close. 

And yet some at least of the carcasses seem to have injuries consistent with being struck by a moving train.

But could the train really have killed 70 in one go? 

And if he started to hit animals, surely the driver would have slammed on brakes and not ploughed into dozens more animals?

Some comments suggest that reindeer so run along the tracks in front of the train, but then would the driver not have slowed? 

But a train can take 1 km to halt once the brakes are applied so this may not have helped.