SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549




                                    FORM 8-K




                                 CURRENT REPORT
                       Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of
                       The Securities Exchange Act of 1934

         Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported) June 11, 1998

                          Illinois Central Corporation
              Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter




           Delaware                      1-10720            13-3545405

(State or other jurisdiction         (Commission          (IRS Employer
      of incorporation)               File Number)         Identification No.)





455 North Cityfront Plaza Drive, Chicago, Illinois                 60611-5504
(Address of principal executive offices)                           (Zip Code)



         Registrant's telephone number, including area code (312) 755-7500



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Item 5.  Other Items

On June 11,  1998,  an $8  million  ship  unloading  crane  manufactured  for IC
RailMarine Terminal Company ("ICRMT") Convent, Louisiana collapsed and fell from
the dock into the Mississippi River. ICRMT, an import/export,  dry-bulk handling
terminal,   is  an  indirect,   wholly  owned  subsidiary  of  Illinois  Central
Corporation  (the  "Company").  The crane was being load and stability tested as
part of the installation by the manufacturer. The exact cause of the accident is
unknown and being investigated.

The  manufacturer is a joint venture between an Austrian company and a Slovenian
company.  The crane,  delivered to ICRMT's dock on March 31, 1998, was under the
control  of the  manufacturer  at the  time of the  incident,  and had not  been
accepted by ICRMT. The incident resulted in one fatality and seven injuries, one
serious.


ICRMT will not be fully  operational  until a replacement  crane is operational.
Various  options  are  being   examined.   A  new  crane  may  be  available  in
approximately  fifteen to eighteen  months.  A reworked  used  crane,  or mobile
harbor crane, could be employed in approximately six to eight months.

All insurers,  underwriters,  indemnifying parties and governmental  authorities
have been notified of the incident.

While loss of the crane will have a material  impact on the  operations of ICRMT
until  replaced,  neither the loss of the crane nor the disruption to operations
of ICRMT will have a material impact on the Company.

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                                    SIGNATURE





Pursuant  to the  requirements  of the  Securities  Exchange  Act of  1934,  the
registrant  has duly  caused  this  report  to be  signed  on its  behalf by the
undersigned hereto duly authorized.







                                       ILLINOIS CENTRAL CORPORATION




                                       /s/JOHN V. MULVANEY
                                          John V. Mulvaney
                                    Vice President and Chief Financial Officer







Date: July 1, 1998



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