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North Dakota Train Derailments 2026

Quick answer: North Dakota had 8 train derailments in 2026 through August, the latest month in the FRA data, compared with 6 in January-August 2025. 2025 ended with 7 derailments. FRA figures run 2-3 months behind: for a derailment today, see accidents today.

Updated 2 November 2026 · FRA records through 31 August 2026 · Source: Federal Railroad Administration, Form 54 (public domain)

Looking for a derailment today? Official FRA data lags 2-3 months, so recent crashes are not on this map yet. See accidents today (every accident report from the last 24 hours) and the live accident map, which lists rail accidents from news reports every 15 minutes, or North Dakota accidents today.

Derailments 2026

January-August (FRA)

Same period 2025

January-August

With hazmat cars damaged

0 with a hazmat release, 2026

0 / 0

Killed / injured

in derailments, 2026 to date

Map · 2025-2026

North Dakota train derailment map

Every derailment in North Dakota reported to the FRA in 2025 and 2026, placed at the coordinates the railroad reported. Click a dot for the railroad, cars derailed, hazmat, injuries, cause and the official FRA report.

Year

State

Hazardous materials

Train

15 derailments shown

Death, or hazmat released Injuries, or hazmat cars damaged No injuries or hazmat damage Bigger dot = more cars derailed

Latest records

Latest train derailments in North Dakota

Newest first, as filed by the railroads. Filters above also apply to this list.

Date	Place	Railroad	Cars	Hazmat	Hurt	Cause (FRA)	Report
2026-08-06	Rohrville, Ramsey County	Northern Plains Railroad, Inc.	3	none	none	Broken Rail - Transverse/compound fissure Railroad's description AMENDED REPORT THRESHOLD #36 EQUIPMENT DAMAGE.	FRA
2026-06-09	Beulah, Mercer County	BNSF Railway Company	3	none	none	Failure to comply with restricted speed or its equivalent not in connection with a block or... Railroad's description RTWI800108 UNKNOWINGLY PULLED THROUGH A SWITCH, CAME BACK AND DERAILED 2 LOCOMOTIVES AND 1 RAILCAR DUE TO FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH RESTRICTED SPEED OR ITS EQUIVALENT NOT IN CONNECTION WITH A BLOCK OR INTERLOCKING SIGNAL. NO HAZMAT RELEASE	FRA
2026-06-01	Bisbee, Towner County	BNSF Railway Company	1	none	none	Snow, ice, mud, gravel, coal, sand, etc. on track Railroad's description GBSBVAW928 PULLING ON INDUSTRY TRACK DERAILED 1 LOCOMOTIVE AT A SEMI CROSSING PACKED WITH HARD DIRTAND ROCKS ABOVE THE RAIL CAUSING THE LOCO TO LIFT OFF THE RAIL. NO HAZMAT RELEASE. 2 TRACTION MOTORSWERE REPLACED.	FRA
2026-05-31	Dickinson, Stark County	BNSF Railway Company	2	1 damaged	none	Failure to comply with restricted speed or its equivalent not in connection with a block or... Railroad's description MMANDIC131 LIGHT POWER RAN THROUGH A SWITCH DUE TO FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH RESTRICTED SPEED OR ITS EQUIVALENT NOT IN CONNECTION WITH A BLOCK OR INTERLOCKING SIGNAL. R MON8124 31G LATER DERAILED 2 RAILCARS DUE TO THE PREVIOUSLY RUN THROUGH SWITCH. NO HAZMAT RELEASE.	FRA
2026-05-24	Mandan, Morton County	BNSF Railway Company	1	none	none	Switch damaged or out of adjustment Railroad's description GMURVAW919 PULLING ON YARD TRACK DERAILED 1 RAILCAR DUE TO SWITCH DAMAGED OR OUT OF ADJUSTMENT. NO HAZMAT RELEASE.	FRA
2026-04-17	Mandan, Morton County	BNSF Railway Company	5	3 damaged	none	Broken Rail - Head and web separation (within joint bar limits) Railroad's description HLAUDIL16A PULLING ON YARD TRACK DERAILED 5 RAILCARS DUE TO BROKEN RAIL - HEAD AND WEB SEPARATION (WITHIN JOINT BAR LIMITS). NO HAZMAT RELEASE.	FRA
2026-03-16	Minot, Ward County	BNSF Railway Company	1	none	none	Snow, ice, mud, gravel, coal, sand, etc. on track Railroad's description SLPCMIN414 ON INDUSTRY TRACK DERAILED 1 LOCOMOTIVE DUE TO ICE AND DEBRIS ON A PRIVATE CROSSING. NO TRACK DAMAGE. NO HAZMAT RELEASE. BUSTED TRACTION MOTOR.	FRA
2026-03-13	Geneseo, Sargent County	Dakota, Missouri Valley & Western Railroad, Inc.	3	none	none	Extreme environmental condition - EXTREME WIND VELOCITY Railroad's description 30. Z-ELEVATOR SIDING ON MARCH 13 THE GENESEO ELEVATOR CALLED TO REPORT 3 CARS HAD DERAILED DURINGTHE NIGHT OF MARCH 12/13 DUE TO EXTREMELY HIGH WINDS.	FRA
2025-10-13	Hettinger, Adams County	BNSF Railway Company	2	3 in train	none	Switch improperly lined Railroad's description HNTWLAU112 PULLING ON YARD TRACK DERAILED 2 RAILCARS DUE TO THE CONDUCTOR THROWING THE SWITCH UNDERTHE MOVING TRAIN. NO HAZMAT RELEASE.	FRA
2025-08-12	Mandan, Morton County	BNSF Railway Company	2	none	none	Spring/power switch mechanism malfunction Railroad's description YMAN201112 PULLING ON YARD TRACK DERAILED 1 LOCOMOTIVE AND 1 RAILCARS DUE TO SPRING/POWER SWITCH MECHANISM MALFUNCTION. NO HAZMAT RELEASE.	FRA
2025-07-02	Bowman, Bowman County	BNSF Railway Company	0	none	none	Interference (other than vandalism) with railroad operations by nonrailroad employee Railroad's description HIGH PLAINS GRAIN INDUSTRY USING A CHAIN AND TRACTOR. CHAIN BROKE AND THE CARS ROLLED OUT AND HIT THE DERAIL DERAILING 3 RAILCARS DUE TO INTERFERENCE (OTHER THAN VANDALISM) WITH RAILROAD OPERATIONS BYNON-RAILROAD EMPLOYEE. NO HAZMAT RELEASE.	FRA
2025-06-21	Clifford, Traill County	BNSF Railway Company	832	none	none	Extreme environmental condition - EXTREME WIND VELOCITY Railroad's description UNATTENDED STORED RAILCARS ON YARD TYPE TRACK WERE BLOWN OVER DUE TO TORNADO AND STRAIGHT LINE WINDSIN EXCESS OF 115 MPH. NO HAZMAT RELEASE. TOTAL OF 832 CARS WERE DERAILED. FRA HAS ALLOWED RELIEF FOR ENTERING ALL 832 RAILCARS. NO INJURIES.	FRA
2025-06-21	Valley City, Barnes County	Canadian Pacific Kansas City	40	7 damaged	none	Extreme environmental condition - TORNADO Railroad's description TORNADOS IN THE NORTH DAKOTA AREA DERAILED 5 CARS ON TRAIN 149-19 AND 35 CARS AT ENDERLIN SIDING	FRA
2025-05-07	Churchs Ferry, Ramsey County	BNSF Railway Company	8	none	none	Roadbed settled or soft Railroad's description GBSBVAW906 DERAILED 8 RAILCARS DUE TO ROADBED SETTLED OR SOFT. NO HAZMAT RELEASE.	FRA
2025-02-24	Thompson, Grand Forks County	BNSF Railway Company	10	none	none	Wide gage (due to defective or missing spikes or other rail fasteners) Railroad's description G-THPKAL9-15H PULLING ON THOMPSON FARMERS COOP ELEVATOR CO INDUSTRY MAINTAINED AND DERAILED 10 RAILCARS DUE TO WIDE GAGE (DUE TO DEFECTIVE OR MISSING SPIKES OR OTHER RAIL FASTENERS). SINGLE RAILCAR ONADJACENT TRACK WAS DAMAGED AND NOT DERAILED.	FRA

"Cars" counts derailed cars and locomotives. "Hazmat" counts cars carrying hazardous materials: released = some product escaped. Showing up to 50 rows; the map has all 15.

News reports · last 30 days

Recent rail accident news

Headlines our live monitor matched as rail accidents. These are news reports, not FRA records: details may change and some will never meet the FRA reporting threshold.

28/10 30 People Died As Fatal Train Accident Postpone Copa Del Rey Matches www.yardbarker.com · United States

28/10 ‘Thoughts & Prayers’: Sergio Garcia Breaks Silence With Message for Victims After Deadly Train Crash Claims 68 Lives www.essentiallysports.com · United States

Trend · 2015-2026

North Dakota train derailments by year

2026 covers January-August only. Each derailment is counted once, even when more than one railroad filed a report.

* 2026 to date (January-August, preliminary). Source: FRA Form 54, distinct accidents with accident type "derailment".

Why trains derail

Top causes of train derailments in North Dakota

The railroad codes a primary cause on every report from FRA's train accident cause code list. We group the codes into FRA's five main groups and their sub-groups, in plain English.

2026 (to August) · 8 derailments

Track defects (rails, ties, switches, roadbed)

3 · 38%

Other: weather, loading, obstructions, unknown

3 · 38%

Human factors (crew actions and rules)

2 · 25%

2025 · 7 derailments

Track defects (rails, ties, switches, roadbed)

3 · 43%

Other: weather, loading, obstructions, unknown

3 · 43%

Human factors (crew actions and rules)

1 · 14%

Sub-group (2025-2026)	Derailments
Weather and debris: snow, ice, flood, tornado, high wind	5
Broken rails, joint bars, ties and fasteners	2
Excessive speed	2
Switches, frogs and other track appliances	2
Switches lined wrong, not locked or run through	1
Vandalism, outside interference, under investigation or unknown	1
Roadbed: soft, settled or washed-out ground	1
Track geometry: wide gauge, misaligned or buckled track	1

Most common exact causes (FRA wording)	Derailments
Failure to comply with restricted speed or its equivalent not in connection with a block or...	2
Snow, ice, mud, gravel, coal, sand, etc. on track	2
Extreme environmental condition - EXTREME WIND VELOCITY	2
Broken Rail - Transverse/compound fissure	1
Switch damaged or out of adjustment	1
Broken Rail - Head and web separation (within joint bar limits)	1
Switch improperly lined	1
Spring/power switch mechanism malfunction	1
Interference (other than vandalism) with railroad operations by nonrailroad employee	1
Extreme environmental condition - TORNADO	1

Counts for 2025 and 2026 to date. The sub-groups sum only the top rows. A cause "under investigation" is updated when the railroad amends its report.

Railroads

Railroads with the most derailments in North Dakota

By the railroad that filed the main report. Large railroads run far more train-miles, so a higher count does not by itself mean a worse safety record.

Railroad	2026 (to Aug)	2025
BNSF Railway Company	6	6
Northern Plains Railroad, Inc.	1	-
Dakota, Missouri Valley & Western Railroad, Inc.	1	-
Canadian Pacific Kansas City	-	1

"-" = not in that year's top list.

By county

North Dakota derailments by county, 2025-2026

County (as reported to FRA)	Derailments
Morton	3
Ramsey	2
Mercer	1
Towner	1
Stark	1
Ward	1
Sargent	1
Adams	1
Bowman	1
Traill	1
Barnes	1
Grand Forks	1

Counties with big rail yards tend to top this list: 100% of the North Dakota derailments on the map happened at a train speed of 10 mph or less.

All train accidents

Collisions and other train accidents in North Dakota

Derailments are the largest group of rail equipment accidents. The same FRA reports also cover collisions, fires and trains hitting obstructions.

Accident type (FRA)	2026 (to Aug)	2025
Derailment	8	7
Highway-rail crossing collision	1	2
Hit an obstruction	0	1
Other (see narrative)	0	1
All rail equipment accidents	9	11

Highway-rail crossing crashes appear here only when train or track damage passed the FRA threshold; most crossing crashes are reported on a separate form (FRA F 6180.57) and are not in this table.

Questions

Train derailments: FAQ

How many train derailments have there been in North Dakota in 2026?

FRA accident reports show 8 train derailments in North Dakota from January to August 2026, against 6 in the same months of 2025. The most recent months can still grow as late reports arrive. Each derailment is counted once even when two railroads reported it.

Was there a train derailment today?

Official FRA data runs about 2-3 months behind (the latest record is from 31 August 2026). For derailments reported in the last 24 hours, see the accidents today page and the live map on our home page, which pull rail accident reports from news sources every 15 minutes.

What causes most train derailments?

In 2025-2026 FRA data for North Dakota, the most common cause group is track defects (rails, ties, switches, roadbed) (40% of derailments with a coded cause). Track problems such as wide gauge from bad crossties and broken rails, and human factors such as switches lined wrong and shoving moves in yards, lead the list. 100% of the derailments mapped here happened at 10 mph or less, typically in yards and sidings.

Where can I see a map of train derailments in North Dakota?

The map on this page shows every derailment in North Dakota reported to the FRA for 2025 and 2026, coloured by severity: red when someone died or hazardous material was released, amber for injuries or damaged hazmat cars.

How many train derailments happen a year in the US?

Between 2015 and 2025, FRA data counts roughly 991 to 1,377 train derailments a year in the United States (991 in 2025). Only accidents above the FRA damage reporting threshold are counted.

Where does this data come from?

From the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA): railroads must file Form FRA F 6180.54 for every rail equipment accident above a damage threshold. The data is published on data.transportation.gov and is US government public domain.

Sources and method

About this data

Source: Federal Railroad Administration, Rail Equipment Accident/Incident Data (Form 54) on data.transportation.gov (readable view of the source dataset aqxq-n5hy). US government work, public domain. Cause groups: FRA train accident cause codes (Appendix C of the FRA reporting guide).
What is counted: accidents with FRA accident type 01 (derailment) that caused damage above the FRA reporting threshold. Each accident is counted once by its FRA incident key, even when two or three railroads filed reports. Killed and injured are the accident totals; hazmat cars are added up across the railroads' reports.
Lag: railroads report each month's accidents by the end of the following month and FRA publishes after that, so the data runs 2-3 months behind. The latest month can still rise as late reports arrive. This page re-checks FRA once a day.
Map positions are the latitude and longitude the railroad entered on the report; a few may be approximate.
Not included: accidents below the damage threshold, transit systems that do not report to FRA, and Canada. Canadian rail occurrence statistics are published by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.