A broken wheel is to blame, the safety board said
In March 2024, a CN train carrying grain from a grain handling facility in Bloom to Winnipeg, Man., derailed near Elie, and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has determined why.
The L2 wheel on the 93rd car in the train had a broken wheel, the TSB’s July 2025 report says.
The wheel manufacturer, Griffin Wheel Company in Winnipeg, inspected the broken wheel and determined where the issue occurred.
“The L2 wheel had a dent (plastic deformation) to the back side of the plate, and there was a surface crack on the front side of the plate, directly opposite the dent location,” the TSB’s report says, adding that the dent on the side of the plate initiated the crack on the front side.
Inspectors are thankful the derailment wasn’t worse given the damage to the wheel.
“We know what caused it, but we don’t know how it happened. All we know is it somehow was impacted during its life span. That’s really all we know. Thank God it wasn’t worse,” Reinhard Sommerfeld, a TSB investigator, told the Winnipeg Free Press.
In rail terminology, L2 is used to indicate the left wheel on the second axle of a railcar.
In total, 17 cars derailed in the incident.
No cars were breached, but grain spilled from the top hatches of the overturned cars.