The train was travelling near a wildlife reserve at Habarana when it hit a family of elephants crossing the line.

Chugging through the Highlands, windows down, doors open, is the best way to see the country’s emerald interior unfold — and this route is often lauded as one of the world’s greatest train journeys.

A Sri Lankan passenger train derailed Thursday after smashing into a family of elephants, with no passengers injured but six animals killed in the island's worst such wildlife accident, police said.

The express train was travelling near a wildlife reserve at Habarana, some 180 kilometres east of the capital Colombo, when it hit the herd before dawn.

A passenger train derailed after striking a herd of elephants near a wildlife reserve in central Sri Lanka in the early hours of Thursday. While no injuries were reported among passengers, six elephants died from the accident in Habarana,

Graphic content / Wounded elephants. A passenger train derailed after hitting a herd of elephants near a wildlife reserve in Habarana, Sri Lanka, early Thursday, resulting in six elephant fatalities.