NTSB links Bordulac train derailment to subgrade collapse in Stutsman County

A pre-dawn derailment near Bordulac turned into a hazardous-material emergency in Stutsman County, putting a nearby residence on evacuation and knocking Canadian Pacific Kansas City freight train 242-03 off the Carrington Subdivision. The train derailed 29 railcars, including 17 tank cars carrying hazardous materials, and the National Transportation Safety Board said the incident caused about $3.6 million in damage.

The board said the derailment happened at about 3:36 a.m. on July 5, 2024, when the eastbound train, made up of two locomotives and 151 cars, encountered a failure in the ground under the track. In plain terms, the subgrade is the supporting layer beneath the rails and ballast, and investigators said it collapsed after an erosion-created void formed where culvert segments had separated.

That hidden failure was the key accountability issue in the case. The NTSB said the separation went undetected because culvert inspection requirements were not sufficient, allowing the void to grow until the track structure failed. The board said nine hazardous-material tank cars were breached in the derailment.

The release of methanol from the derailed tank cars fueled a pool fire, and heat from the blaze caused anhydrous ammonia to escape from other tank cars. Emergency officials said the train was carrying methanol, anhydrous ammonia and plastic pellets. No injuries were reported, and air monitoring found no off-site contamination in the immediate aftermath. The North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality also reported no impacts to soil or water outside the incident site.

Response crews moved quickly to stabilize the scene. All hazardous-material rail cars were removed from the immediate site by July 7, 2024, and track repairs were completed July 8, allowing rail traffic to resume after safety inspections. Officials said the fire was mostly extinguished by July 6.

The final report widened the focus beyond Bordulac itself. The NTSB said the accident exposed broader safety concerns involving culvert inspections, tank-car survivability in fire, the placement of poison-inhalation-hazard cars near flammable liquids, and continued use of DOT-111 and DOT-117R tank cars. The board issued new safety recommendations to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, the Association of American Railroads, the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, and CPKC, setting up pressure on rail and federal regulators to prevent another collapse in the Stutsman County area.