The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe railroad is on track to match its most costly year in a decade for damage to equipment and rails in North Dakota, the Federal Railroad Administration says.

Canadian Pacific Railway, which had one of the state's worst-ever rail disasters in 2002, is reporting one of its least expensive years in damage to rails and equipment, the federal agency said.

No other railroads have reported damage in North Dakota.

BNSF reported $2.8 million in damage to rails and equipment through July, the Federal Railroad Administration said. The railroad has had at least two derailments and a collision with a tanker truck that have yet to be recorded by the federal agency.

BNSF's most expensive year was 1995, when it reported $6 million in damage. Through July, the railroad has matched or surpassed every other year since 1993.

The most expensive of the seven BNSF accidents reported so far this year was when 36 cars of a 120-car coal train derailed in July near the State Penitentiary in Bismarck. No one was hurt. BNSF reported $1.4 million in damages.

Spokesman Gus Melonas said the amount of damage the railroad claims does not reflect its safety record.

"There isn't a problem," he said. "We're have more than 99.99 percent derailment-free deliveries."

Melonas said BNSF has improved its safety record over the last decade. At the same time, it has increased its freight hauling through the state.

He said about 20,000 trains will move through North Dakota this year, between Chicago and the Pacific Northwest.

In Montana, BNSF has reported $1.3 million in damage to rails and equipment from five accidents. BNSF's costliest year in that state was in 1998, when it reported $7.6 million in damage from 28 accidents.

Since 1995, the railroad has invested more than $17 billion in upgrades to track and equipment, much of it in North Dakota, Melonas said.

Canadian Pacific Railway has reported one accident in North Dakota totaling $22,000 in damage through July.

Last year, the railroad reported $1.2 million in damages, mostly from the Jan. 18, 2002, derailment in Minot that spilled anhydrous ammonia, killing one man and injuring hundreds of people.

That derailment involved the Soo Line. The Soo Line's highest reported damage in the last decade was $1.6 million in 1999.

Federal Railroad Administration spokesman Warren Flatau said the agency requires railroads to report only damage to track and equipment but not to private property. It does not require fines or lawsuit settlements to be included.

The state Health Department in June fined Canadian Pacific Railway $925,000 for environmental violations stemming from the anhydrous spill.

"A relatively minor accident can cause a lot of damage," Flatau said.

Canadian Pacific Railway spokeswoman Laura Baenen said luck has little to do with preventing train derailments or other railroad accidents.

"The truth is, a lot of it is hard work," she said.