2006 in rail transport
January events
*
January 5 - Railway workers across
India begin voting on whether or not to hold a
strike against
Indian Railways in February. The union's demands center around pay scales, pensions, and private investment into the railway. A
Northern Railway Mazdoor Union spokesperson stated that the decision to hold the strike vote was made at the recent
All India Railwaymen's Union convention in
Mumbai;
Western Railway Mazdoor Sangh union members protested at the convention by burning an effigy of Indian Finance Minister
P Chidambaram. Voting is scheduled to conclude on
January 8, and the vote count, which is expected to begin on
January 9, will be monitored by external observers.
[Hindustan Times (January 5 2006), Railway employees vote on proposed strike issue. Retrieved January 6 2006.][Chennai Online (January 5 2006), Railway staff to go on strike in Feb. Retrieved January 6 2006.]*
January 6 -
China's Minister of Railways
Liu Zhijun announces details of a 160 billion
yuan (
$20 billion) plan for railway construction there in the coming year. The ministry expects to begin construction on as many as 87 new railway projects in 2006, including thirteen new express
passenger train routes and opening new
electrified lines. The plan also includes the acceleration of eleven express passenger route projects already under construction.
[Xinhua (January 6 2006), Govt to invest more on railway construction. Retrieved January 6 2006.]February events
*
February 7 - Workers in
Turkmenistan begin the final phase of construction on the
Trans Karakum railway that will connect
Ashgabat to
Dashoguz, crossing the
Karakum Desert. The new railway connection is expected to cut travel times between the two cities in half, bypassing the current circuitous route from Ashgabat through
Mary and
Lebap provinces and along the border with
Uzbekistan. Once construction is completed, the official opening ceremony is expected to be held at the new
Ichoguz station on the border between
Ahal and
Dashhowuz provinces.
[Turkmenistan.ru (February 7 2006), Construction of Trans-Karakum railway nears completion in Turkmenistan. Retrieved February 8 2006.]*
February 13 -
Genesee and Wyoming (G&W) announces that it has sold its 50% share in operations (the other 50% was owned by
Westfarmers Ltd.) of the
Australian Rairoad Group (ARG) in western
Australia to
Queensland Rail (QR) and
Babcock & Brown Ltd. (B&B). The deal, valued at
$974 million (
A$1.55 billion), splits the holdings between operations and infrastructure elements with QR purchasing the above-rail operations and B&B purchasing the below-rail infrastructure. In a concurrent deal, G&W is purchasing Westfarmer's share of ARG in
South Australia for $15 million (A$22 million), which will be renamed Genesee & Wyoming Australia Pty Ltd and operated as a subsidiary company of G&W.
[Genesee & Wyoming, Inc. (February 13 2006), Genesee & Wyoming Agrees to Sell Western Australia Operations and Certain Other Assets of the Australian Railroad Group for A$1.3 Billion (US$956 million). Retrieved February 14 2006.]*
February 20 - Officials in
Thailand affirm that they will consider
World Heritage Railway status for the Thailand-Burma Railway, also known as the
Death Railway. Thousands of
British,
Dutch and
Australian nationals perished in the railway's
prisoner of war construction camps during
World War II, and the railway's construction served as the inspiration for the
1957 film The Bridge on the River Kwai. The campaign to gain heritage status is being led by
Takashi Nagase, an
English language teacher in
Japan, who had served as an interpreter for the Japanese military during the war.
[TMC.net (February 20 2006), Thailand considers World Heritage status for 'Death Railway'. Retrieved February 20 2006.]March events
*
March 1 - Members of the
Korea Railway Workers' Union begin a
strike action against
Korean National Railroad (Korail). Systemwide passenger service is reduced by 60% and freight service is also drastically reduced during the strike. Union members called the strike to protest Korail's practice of replacing regular long-term positions with short-term contract positions.
See also: South Korean railroad strike of 2006.*
March 9 -
Groundbreaking ceremonies are held in
Dublin,
Ireland, on Spencer Station, the first new
train station to be built in the city in more than 100 years. The first shovelfuls of dirt were turned by Minister for Transport
Martin Cullen. The new station, which is valued at
€30 million, will serve the Maynooth and Navan lines and is planned as part of an extension of the city's
Luas light rail system to the north docks area. The new station, part of the
Transport 21 plan announced in 2005, is expected to open in mid-2007.
[IOL (March 9 2006), Cullen turns sod on new Dublin city railway station. Retrieved March 9 2006.]*
March 24 - Officials with the
Portuguese firm
Mota-Engil announce that the company will begin building a trans-
Andean railway line in April 2006 that will connect
Argentina and
Chile. Construction of the new
Transandino del Sur railway will begin near the Argentine city of
Zapala and will run from there for the 50
km (31
miles) to the Chilean border; Mota-Engil expects to complete this section by 2008. From the border, the contract to build the segment to the Chilean city of
Lonquimay, 170 km (106 mi) further, will be up for international bidding.
April events
*
April 1 - The
London passenger rail services of Great Northern and
Thameslink are merged under
First Capital Connect in a new franchise that will continue for six years. The new franchisee plans to overhaul the trains with new liveries and on-board services as well as an
£8 million program of upgrades for several major stations.
*
April 7 - Officials with
BNSF Railway announce that the railway will become the first
United States railroad to open an office in
China when its office in
Shanghai opens later in April. Both
Canadian National Railway and
Canadian Pacific Railway, which both maintain track and operate in the US, already maintain offices in China, but this will be the first office for a US-headquartered railway. The office is hoped to help BNSF with logistics planning for
containerized shipments between the US and
Asia.
*
April 11 -
Hong Kong's Executive Council formally approves the
merger of (KCR) and (MTR). Officials close to the negotiations estimate a passenger fare reduction for as many as 2.8 million riders on the first day that the merger is effective. The proposal includes a formula for future fare adjustments. The resulting company will use the MTR name and identity; it will be responsible for the daily operation of both KCR and MTR systems. Although up to 700 layoffs are predicted due to job duplication, officials estimate that the combined company could be looking to hire 1,300 more employees within a few years.
*
|
Flag of the Basque Country |
April 25 - Officials with the governments of
Spain and the
Basque autonomous region sign an agreement outlining the proposed
Basque Y railway service. The service would provide passenger and freight rail transport between the three Basque provincial capitals of
Vitoria,
Bilbao and
Donostia and connections to the
high-speed Madrid-Vitoria-
Paris rail corridor. The agreement puts the section between Vitoria and Bilbao under Spanish control, and the section in
Gipuzkoa province under Basque control.
*
Conference of African Railway Ministers 10-14 April 2006 discusses integration, gauge standardisationMay events
*
May 9 - The last train from
Beijing south railway station departed at 23:09, and the station then stops services for preparing the rebuild. The new Beijing south will be the starting station of high-speed trains include
Beijing-Tianjin high-speed rail and
Beijing-Shanghai Express Railway. The rebuild work is scheduled to be completed in 2008.
*
May 11 - Transport and Communications Minister of
Greece,
Mihalis Liapis, announces a
€2 billion pledge by the government to rehabilitate the country's rail network. One of the projects included in the pledge is an expansion of passenger rail service between
Athens and
Thessaloniki.
OSE, the national railway of Greece, is expected to submit orders for new equipment valued at over €750 million in the following week.
*
May 16 - In ceremonies held in
Washington, D.C., the 2005
E.H. Harriman Awards for employee safety on
American railroads are presented. Recipients in class A (line-haul railroad companies with more than 15 million employee hours per year) are: Gold -
Norfolk Southern Railroad (for the 17th consecutive year); Silver -
BNSF Railway; and Bronze -
CSX Transportation. In class B (between 4 and 15 million employee hours per year), the recipients are: Gold -
Canadian Pacific's U.S. subsidiary (formerly
Soo Line Railroad); Silver -
Kansas City Southern Railway; and Bronze -
Metra. In class C (less than 4 million employee hours per year), the recipients are: Gold -
Florida East Coast Railway; Silver -
Pan Am Railways; Bronze -
Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railroad. The final group, switching and terminal railroads, recipients are: Gold -
Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis; Silver -
Conrail; Bronze -
Belt Railway of Chicago.
*
May 26 -
Berlin Hauptbahnhof is ceremonially opened by Chancellor
Angela Merkel, who arrived together with transport minister
Wolfgang Tiefensee in a specially chartered
InterCity Express from
Leipzig. A "Symphony of Light" was performed immediately following the dedication.
Reamonn and
BAP performed at Hauptbahnhof, and there were also events at the other new stations:
Gesundbrunnen,
Potsdamer Platz and
Südkreuz.
June events
*
June 5 -
Indian Railways begins construction on a new rail bridge that will become the highest railroad bridge in the world. The bridge, crossing the
Chenab River at 359
metres (1,178
ft) above the river and connecting
Katra and
Laol in the Indian state of
Jammu and Kashmir, will also include the world's largest supporting arch. The arch will span 1,315 m (4,314 ft). Construction is expected to be completed by 2009.
*
June 6 - In a precedent-setting case brought by
European Green Party legislator
Alain Lipietz and his sister,
SNCF, the national railway of
France, is ordered to pay almost
$80,000 in reparations for transporting members of their family to the
Drancy deportation camp during
World War II. SNCF argued at trial that they were at the time under orders of the
German military; the railroad further argued that the German military threatened to shoot any railroad official who disobeyed their orders. The court disagreed with SNCF concluding that there was no way that SNCF could have avoided knowledge of the prisoners' likely deportation to concentration camps and that SNCF made no effort to either protest the transportation or to transport them in a humane manner.
*
June 20 -
Hankyu Railway announces that it has completed its stock purchase for control of
Hanshin Electric Railway in a transaction totalling about
$2.2 billion. Hankyu now owns a 63.7% interest in Hanshin, which is planned to be operated as a
subsidiary company beginning later in 2006. The purchase makes the combined company the third largest railway in
Japan by revenue, and the second largest in the
Kansai region.
*
June 26 -
Shanghai south railway station opens for limited service; the first regular train out of the station is train N521 bound for
Hangzhou. The station features the world's largest circular transparent roof and can accommodate up to 16,000 passengers at once. Formal opening ceremonies are currently scheduled for
July 1.
July events
*
July 1 -
China's President
Hu Jintao presides over a ribbon cutting ceremony in
Golmud to officially open the
Qingzang railway for service. The first train over the newly constructed line carried about 900 passengers to
Lhasa. With the highest point on the new line at 5,072
m (16,640
ft) above
sea level, the Qingzang railway is now the highest operating railway in the world.
*
July 2 -
SNCF's president
Louis Gallois leaves the
French railway company for
EADS. He's been replaced by
Anne-Marie Idrac, former president of the
RATP. Louis Gallois had been SNCF's president for 10 years, and SNCF's employees applauded him as he was leaving.
*
July 3 - An
accident on Valencia Metro kills at least 41 and injures 40. The driver seems to have driven too fast, causing the breaking of a wheel and the derailment of the train. This accident occured in the very center of
Valencia,
Spain, as the city was ready for
pope Benedict XVI's arrival
July 8.
*
July 11 - A
series of bombs explode aboard commuter trains on the
Mumbai Suburban Railway in
India. An additional bomb was also found, but defused, at the
Borivali station. The blasts claimed at least 200 lives, and caused hundreds of injuries. The bombs were exploded during the evening
rush hour on trains plying on the western line of the suburban train network, which form the backbone of
Mumbai's transportation network.
August events
Future events
By month
= September events
=
*
September 3 - The new high-speed route between
Kerava and
Lahti will open. There is 63 km of new double track railway and it shortens travel times to
Eastern Finland and to Russia.
* September - The new federal railway agency of
Finland will begin work.
[NewsRoom Finland (October 7 2005), Finnish government picks Helsinki to house railway agency. Retrieved October 7 2005.]= October events
=
*
October 31 - The newly constructed
Taiwan High Speed Rail line between
Taipei City and
Kaohsiung City is scheduled to open for service.
By season
= Spring events
=
*
Spring - The first test runs are scheduled to take place on a one-
mile segment of the new
light rail transit system in
Phoenix, Arizona.
[Associated Press (February 16 2005), Phoenix begins work on light rail. Retrieved February 16 2005.]Unknown date events
* - The
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Greenbush Line, an expansion of the commuter rail system to serve
Boston's South Shore, is expected to begin revenue service.
* - The
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority expects to switch from tokens to a farecard system that will be called "The Charlie Card" in honor of the unfortunate hero of "
The MTA Song".
* - The
Osaka Outer Loop Line and the eighth line of the
Osaka City Subway are scheduled to open in
Osaka,
Japan.
* -
GO Transit in
Toronto, Ontario, plans to begin construction to add a third track on the Lakeshore West and Lakeshore East lines and a second track on the Georgetown line.
* -
Union Pacific Railroad and
CSX Transportation will launch new produce
unit trains between
Washington and
New York states.
[Union Pacific Railroad (August 2 2005), Union Pacific and CSX to Introduce a New Produce Service in 2006. Retrieved August 4 2005.]* -
Vietnam expects to begin construction to upgrade the
Hanoi-
Lao Cai railway line.
[Xinhua (September 25 2005), France to fund Vietnam in upgrading busiest railway route. Retrieved September 27 2005.]* - The
Deadwood, Black Hills and Western Railroad expects to begin
passenger train service between
Rapid City,
Piedmont,
Sturgis,
Whitewood and
Deadwood,
South Dakota.
[Black Hills Today (October 5 2005), Deadwood Rapid City Passenger Railroad Plans Progress with Appointment of Senior Management. Retrieved October 6 2005.]* - Feasibility tests of airport-style security systems will be performed at
London's
Paddington station as random passengers are asked to pass through detectors and have their bags
X-ray scanned. The test period is expected to last about six months.
[BBC News (November 2 2005), Railway passengers to be scanned. Retrieved November 3 2005.]* -
Royal Hudson steam
locomotive 2860 is expected to return to excursion service after its overhaul.
[Trains News Wire (November 14 2005), B.C. government stokes Royal Hudson restoration funding. Retrieved December 2 2005.]* - The
Metropolitan Transportation Authority plans to break ground on the
IRT Flushing Line extension, the first significant subway construction in
New York City since the mid-
20th Century.
February deaths
*
February 5 -
W. Thomas Rice, president of
Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad 1955-1957,
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad 1957-1967,
Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, cofounder of
CSX Transportation, dies (b.
1913).
[Railway Age (February 7 2006), CSX co-founder Tom Rice dies at 93. Retrieved February 8 2006.]*
February 24 -
Emery Gulash, prolific and widely published photographer of mid-
20th century Midwestern United States railroading, dies (b.
1918).
[(March 7 2006), Emery Gulash passes away. Retrieved March 8 2006.][Trains NewsWire (February 27 2006), Prolific rail photographer Emery Gulash dies. Retrieved March 8 2006.]April deaths
*
April 7 -
Ian David Sinclair, president of
Canadian Pacific Railway 1969-1981, dies (b. 1913).
