GALENA , Ill., March 6 (UPI) -- Two cars of an oil train carrying Bakken crude from North Dakota caught fire after a derailment in near Galena, Ill., Thursday, with an evacuation of homes within a one-mile radius.
The train derailed near the confluence of the Galena and Mississippi Rivers, near Illinois' border with Wisconsin and Iowa. There were no reported injuries.
BNSF Railway in a statement said the tank cars involved were the "CPC-1232 model that were unjacketed with half-height head shields." The newer 1232 model was designed four years ago as part of voluntary safety upgrades adopted by the industry.
Sixteen of the 105 cars of the train, all but two carrying crude oil, left the tracks, and two ignited, Galena City Administrator Mark Moran said.
The derailment is the third in three weeks. In February, trains carrying crude oil derailed in West Virginia and Ontario, Canada.
BNSF spokesman Randy Williams said the cause of the derailment had not been determined, and that Federal Railroad Administration investigators have been sent to the scene. He added BNSF hazmat teams are also investigating and monitoring air quality and waterway protections.
A December report from IHS Energy found the amount of crude oil carried on the North American rail system should peak by 2016 at 1.5 million barrels per day, up from the 20,000 bpd recorded just five years ago. At its peak, rail will handle more than 10 percent of the North American crude oil production.
