Chicago (AP) - A freight train struck the rear of another freight train in southwest Chicago around 2 a.m. Sunday, derailing several rail cars and damaging a third freight train on an adjacent track, authorities said.
Local reports said power was briefly knocked out to more than 2,500 people in the surrounding area.
There were no immediate reports of any injuries following the derailment, CSX rail spokesman Bob Sullivan told The Associated Press.
The derailment sent eight full-sized cars off the tracks.
At least one of the trains was carrying liquid waste, a Chicago fire official and media affairs director, Larry Langford, told The Chicago Sun-Times. The report said emergency crews initially called for a hazardous materials response as a precaution, but no hazardous materials were detected and no leaks discovered.
Sullivan said one train formation bound from Nashville to Chicago had two locomotives and 13 freight cars; another from Albany, N.Y., to Chicago had four locomotives and 93 freight cars and a third on a route from Flint, Michigan, to Chicago had two locomotives and 130 freight cars.
Sullivan said he had no specifics on which train hit the other and which was on the adjacent track. He also said rail officials were at the site investigating and he had no immediate information on any loads or cargo aboard the trains.
"CSX is working with local first responders gathering additional information," he told AP, adding the derailment remains under investigation.
He added that the primary focus remained on public safety.
Information from: WBBM-AM, http://www.wbbm780.com
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