A train carrying crude oil in tank cars that meet new safety standards derailed and caught fire in rural Illinois Thursday — the third such incident in less than a month. The BNSF train, which included 105 model 1232 cars, derailed near the Galena and Mississippi Rivers. Two of the cars burst into flames. No injuries were reported.
The incident follows the February derailments of crude oil trains in West Virginia and Ontario, both of which involved tank cars built to stricter safety specifications. A crude oil train using 1232 cars derailed in West Virginia, sparking a fire that burned a nearby house to the ground. Nearly two-dozen tank cars burst into flames.
A Canadian National Railway train derailed in Ontario just days before, resulting in fires and an oil spill. Canadian authorities said the cars in that incident performed similarly to those involved in the 2013 Lac-Megantic, Quebec, disaster, in which 47 people were killed.
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