Berlin  - A German train slammed into a herd of cows in the eastern state of Thuringia Tuesday, three days after a high-speed train was derailed by a flock of sheep, police and rail officials said.

No injuries were reported to the 30 passengers aboard the regional express, which was travelling at about 90 kilometres an hour when the accident occurred near the town of Arnstadt.

Twelve cows were killed on impact and a 13th was put down by police.

On Saturday, a high speed ICE train ploughed into a flock of sheep in a tunnel while travelling at 220 kilometres an hour.

Most of the train was derailed and 19 passengers suffered injuries ranging from bruises to broken bones. Twenty sheep were killed.

That accident took place near the city of Fulda in the state of Hesse in Germany's longest train tunnel.

While Germany's ICE are seen as extremely safe, the world's worst ever accident involving a high-speed train occurred in June 1998, when an ICE derailed as a result of a broken wheel near the town of Eschede.

The Eschede accident claimed 101 lives and left many more injured. (dpa)