Officials said the Amtrak Hiawatha 340 was on its way from Milwaukee to Chicago at the time of the incident.
According to the Northbrook fire chief, the incident took place near the Deerfield train station. It was not immediately clear how the car came to be on the Amtrak tracks.
The train dragged the car for some distance before it stopped and the car came loose, then caught fire.
No one on the train was injured. Authorities have not yet released any further details.