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For the second time in as many days, a train has gone off the rails near Craven, Sask.
According to the RCMP, the derailment on Monday left Highway 20 blocked in both directions, but has now since reopened.
A statement from CPKC said, “Four loaded grain cars moving through a yard track at Craven derailed this afternoon. The four cars all remained upright. The Highway 20 crossing was blocked by the involved train for a time but has since cleared. The crossing is now open. Crews today will be working to lift the involved rail cars back onto the rail. The incident is under investigation.”
I’m in Craven where a few train cars have derailed again fairly close together for the second time in two days.
All train cars are standing upright but a few have been been jolted off the tracks. @CJMENews @CKOMNews pic.twitter.com/TMClgmFNBL
— Gillian Massie (@massie_gillian) May 12, 2025
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“No dangerous goods were spilled and no injuries have been reported,” the RCMP said in a statement.
Shauna Morgan was sitting down for coffee when the train derailed right behind her deck.
“We started seeing them (train cars) tip back and forth and gravel spit,” she said. “We were like ‘this is not good’ — and it wasn’t.”
Morgan said the train “screamed” as it came to a stop, much to the dismay of her Chihuahuas.
While all the cars stayed upright, Morgan said she was glad they tipped towards the Country Thunder grounds and not towards Wolf’s General Store.
A grain train derailment near Craven on May 11, 2025. (Chris Descottes/Submitted)
To see a second train derailment in two consecutive days had Morgan worried.
“It’s a little nerve racking,” she said. “I’m just glad they tipped the other direction and that’s the truth.”
About one kilometre north of the tracks, three train cars from Sunday’s derailment were pushed off to the shoulder of the ditch.
“Something’s not fixed right,” said Dave Yanke, who was heading to the post office.
Craven Mayor Dayna Anderson said the town had seen a handful of derailments in the last couple of years.
“We’ve actually had three derailments in the last three years,” she said. “The one that happened in 2022 was much more significant and much more concerning than either of these two.”
Anderson said the level of concern has grown in Craven.
“Concern that I’ve expressed with CPKC rail directly in my phone call with them not too long ago,” she said. “We’re obviously very concerned, because that’s not something that should happen at all, never mind twice in 24 hours.”
“They have been very diligent in assuring me that they are absolutely looking into it,” she said.
Anderson said her biggest concern was the speed of the trains.
“It’s obviously really concerning when you have high speed tracks — 30 kmh doesn’t seem like high speed until a train comes off the tracks.”
Anderson said she was told CPKC would provide the town with a report within the next few weeks.
“The last thing people need is this happening again,” she said. “I have been assured that this is a rarity.”
A grain train derailment near Craven on Sunday, May 11, 2025. (Chris Descottes/Submitted)
Grain train derailed on Sunday
The derailment on Monday follows a similar scene at the same spot on Sunday afternoon, when a train carrying grain came off the rails near the community just north of Regina, spilling cargo from several cars. That incident also left Highway 20 closed.
Eyewitness Chad Cunningham described the scene about half a mile north of Craven on Sunday.
“It looks like the side of the track gave way,” Cunningham told 980 CJME. “There’s one car completely with its wheels taken off and the engine itself is on the side.”
Chris Descottes, who lives in the area, said he was working in his workshop on Sunday afternoon when he heard the derailment.
“I could hear all kinds of noise. And I looked up and I’m like ‘oh man, wow, derailment.’”
He said the derailment on Sunday left quite a bit of grain spilled in the ditch, and fire crews monitored the train for fuel leaks and worked to ensure that no wildfires were started as a result of the incident.
A grain train derailment near Craven on May 11, 2025. (Chad Cunningham/Submitted)
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