Failing rail tracks caused 2021 Sask. train derailment, safety board finds [Video]

An “undetected flaw” in the rail tracks is what caused a 27 car train derailment and potash spill near Silton, Sask. in 2021, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) said.

The TSB released its findings in a report published on Tuesday.

On Oct. 15, 2021, a Canadian Pacific Railway Company (CP) freight train departed from Saskatoon’s Sutherland Yard. The train – consisting of one controlling and two remote locomotives – were tasked with transporting 200 hopper cars of potash to Regina.

At 5:02 a.m. on Oct. 16, the train deployed its emergency brake while travelling on the Lanigan subdivision near Silton, Sask.

The locomotive came to stop after travelling 2,100 feet.

The crew soon discovered that 27 cars had derailed on the west side of the track where many were breached – spilling a significant amount of potash in the area. No injuries came as a result of the derailment.

The scene of the derailment illustrated in the …