Short line derailment is third in Mississippi in three days (corrected)

SARDIS, Miss. — Twenty-seven cars of a Grenada Railroad train derailed Sunday (July 6, 2025) in Sardis, Miss., the third significant derailment in the state in three two days.

The Oxford Eagle reports the incident occurred Sunday evening and involved cars carrying corn and sulfuric acid, and occurred in a remote location difficult to access. No leaks were reported, and there were no reports of injuries.  Panola County Emergency Operations said in a social media post late Sunday that the scene has been “contained and controlled,” and clean-up was beginning. That will take several days, the agency said.

Sardis about 50 miles south of Memphis on the Grenada Railroad, a 228-mile Pinsly Railroads short line on the former CN Grenada Subdivision.

The railroad parallels CN’s Yazoo Subdivision, where 13 cars of a train derailed Saturday in Glendora, Miss. [see “CN derailment in Mississippi …,” Trains News Wire, July 5, 2025]. In that incident, a tank car of benzene caught fire, leading to a mandatory evacuation of local residents. The National Transportation Safety Board is now investigating that incident [see “NTSB now on scene …,” News Wire, July 6, 2025].

Amtrak’s website indicates the Glendora incident will lead to cancellation of today’s City of New Orleans in both directions between Carbondale, Ill., and New Orleans, a third straight day of disruptions for that service because of the Glendora incident.

Eighteen cars of a Norfolk Southern train also derailed Friday in Petal, Miss., in the southern part of the state, roughly midway between Jackson, Miss., and Mobile, Ala., and adjacent to Hattiesburg. There were no injuries. The Hattiesburg American reports some denatured alcohol spilled from one of the tank cars in that derailment.

— Corrected to note derailment was on Grenada Railroad at 1:01 p.m. CT. Trains News Wire regrets the error.