1996 in rail transport
From Freepedia
| 1995, 1996, 1997 |
| Years in rail transport 1995 in rail transport 1996 in rail transport 1997 in rail transport |
This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in 1996.
Contents |
Events
January events
- January 6 - A computer-controlled Washington Metro train overran the platform at the Shady Grove station, colliding with a parked train and fatally injuring the operator. (See 1996 Gaithersburg Metrorail Accident).
March events
- March 4 - A Wisconsin Central freight train derails on a broken switch in Weyauwega, Wisconsin. The Weyauwega derailment forced the evacuation of the entire town until March 20 while fire crews worked to control the resulting blaze.
- March 28 - Mucha line of Taipei Mass Rapid Transit, the first subway line of Taiwan, opens.
June events
- June 26 - The Atlanta and St. Andrews Bay Railroad and the A&G Railroad merge to form the Bay Line Railroad.
July events
- July 27 - Ron Burns becomes president of Union Pacific Railroad.
- July 28 - The Talleyrand Terminal Railroad (a subsidiary of Genesee and Wyoming, Inc.) begins operations in Jacksonville, Florida.
September events
- September 14 - The York-Durham Heritage Railway begins operations on CN's former branch between Uxbridge and Stouffville, Ontario.
October events
- October - The first stage of Cairo Metro's Line Two (the Yellow line) opens.
November events
- November 18 - Fire erupts in the Channel Tunnel seriously damaging 200 m of the tunnel's lining.
- November 21 - Limited freight service in the Channel Tunnel resumes while construction crews make repairs at the location of the fire three days earlier.
December events
- December 4 - Passenger service resumes through the Channel Tunnel.
Unknown date events
- The Union Pacific Railroad finishes the acquisition that was effectively begun almost a century before with the purchase of the Southern Pacific Railroad. The merged company retains the name "Union Pacific" for all railroad operations.
- The Hell Gate Bridge, built in 1916, is overhauled, including its first paint job in 80 years.
- A coal train in Beresfield, New South Wales, Australia passes a red signal (SPAD) and collides with the rear of a second coal train on the same track in the Beresfield rail disaster; due to the accident, a somewhat random factor has been added to the vigilance control signals' intervals.
- Construction begins on San Juan, Puerto Rico's Tren Urbano mass transit system.
Deaths
References
- Colin Churcher's Railway Pages (August 16 2005), Significant dates in Canadian railway history. Retrieved September 13 2005.
- (May 2002), Setbacks for Puerto Rico's system, Trains Magazine, p. 31.
- Union Pacific Railroad, Union Pacific Railroad Chronological History: The 1800s. Retrieved July 22 2005.



