WASHINGTON — A Canadian National train detouring on the Grenada Railroad encountered misaligned track as it crossed a 130-foot bridge, leading to the derailment of 21 cars near Sardis, Miss., on July 6, 2025, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary investigation report released last week.
Four cars of hazardous materials were among those that derailed; one, containing sodium hydroxide (also known as lye or caustic soda), was breached, spilling about 10,500 gallons of the highly corrosive material. No injuries were reported; damage was estimated by the Grenada Railroad at about $2 million.
The southbound train of three locomotives and 114 cars — 7,002 feet in length and weighing 12,311 tons, with a crew of a CN engineer and conductor and a Grenada Railroad pilot — was using dynamic braking as it descended a 0.9% grade when the derailment occurred. Cars 41 through 61 derailed. Video from the lead locomotive’s outward facing camera shows a “S-curve” misalignment of what should have been straight track. The CN train was detouring on the Grenada Railroad because of a CN derailment the previous day in Glendora, Miss. [see “NTSB issues preliminary report on CN derailment …,” Trains.com, Aug. 5, 2025].
The NTSB’s ongoing investigation will focus on Grenada Railroad track and bridge maintenance procedures, CN operating roles relating to train operation and assembly, and analysis of event and image recorder information.
