1996 in rail transport

Events

January events

* January 6 - A computer-controlled Washington Metro train overruns the platform at the Shady Grove station, colliding with a parked train and fatally injuring the operator.

February events

* February 4 - The first two British passenger train operating companies begin operation of their service franchises as part of the privatisation of British Rail: South West Trains (part of the Stagecoach Group) and Great Western Trains (management buyout).cite journal|title=Passenger train operating companes: who bought what|journal=Railway Magazine|date=April 1997|pages=p. 20]
* February 10 - Woodlands Extension of the North South MRT Line in Singapore opened, added 6 new stations to the current network.
* February 24 - The three British trainload freight companies, Load-Haul, Mainline Freight and Trans-Rail, are acquired together by North & South Railways Ltd, an affiliate of Wisconsin Central Ltd, as part of the privatisation of British Rail.

March events

* March 4 - A Wisconsin Central freight train derails on a broken switch in Weyauwega, Wisconsin. The derailment forces the evacuation of the entire town until March 20 while fire crews work to control the resulting blaze.
* March 15 - Amtrak selects the "American Flyer" design developed by Bombardier and Alstom, based on the TGV trains of France, as the design model for its "Acela Express" rolling stock.cite web|url=http://fr.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=15_mars_dans_les_chemins_de_fer&oldid=14209552|title=15 mars dans les chemins de fer|language=French|date=2007-02-16|accessdate=2007-03-15]
* March 18 - SNCF begins a construction project to renew the track ballast on the Paris-Lyon TGV line; the project is expected to last through 2006. [cite web|url=http://fr.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=18_mars_dans_les_chemins_de_fer&oldid=10532928|title=18 mars dans les chemins de fer|language=French|work=French language Wikipedia|accessdate=2007-03-09 ]
* March 28 - Mucha line of Taipei Mass Rapid Transit, the first subway line of Taiwan, opens.

April events

* April 14 - The British trainload freight company North & South Railways Ltd becomes EWS.
* April 28 - Further British train operating companies begin operation of their passenger service franchises as part of the privatisation of British Rail: Gatwick Express and Midland Mainline (both National Express Group) and Great North Eastern Railway (Sea Containers Ltd).

May events

* May 4 – Purchase by the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad of the former Chicago and North Western Railway branch lines from Rapid City, South Dakota to Colony, Wyoming and Crawford, Nebraska becomes effective.
* May 17 - Canadian National Railway's Beachburg Subdivision between Pembroke and Nipissing, 126 miles (#expr:(126 * 1.609344) round 0 km) of track which traversed Algonquin Provincial Park, is officially abandoned.cite web| url=http://www.railways.incanada.net/candate/ottawa.htm|title=Significant dates in Ottawa railway history|work=Colin Churcher's Railway Pages|year=2006-04-28|accessdate=2006-05-17 ]
* May 20 - The British railway infrastructure management company, Railtrack, is privatised, being floated on the London Stock Exchange with shares worth 360p. [cite news|last=Left|first=Sarah|title=Key dates in Britain's railway history|work=The Guardian Unlimited|date=2002-01-15|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/transport/Story/0,2763,633951,00.html]
* May 26 - Further British train operating companies begin operation of their passenger service franchises in England as part of the privatisation of British Rail: Connex South Central and LTS Rail (a subsidiary of Prism Rail).

June events

* June 2 - 1st part of the Belgian High Speed line (HSL 1 - Antoing - French Border) put into service, continuation of the French LGV Nord.
* June 26 - The Atlanta and St. Andrews Bay Railroad and the A&G Railroad merge to form the Bay Line Railroad.

July events

* July 21 - British train operating company Chiltern Railways begins operation of its passenger service franchise in England as part of the privatisation of British Rail, following a management buyout.
* 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.
* July 31 - Canadian Pacific Railway makes the last run of a grain load in a 40 ft boxcar with the final deliveries of grain to Thunder Bay, Ontario.cite journal|author=McDonnell, Greg|year=1997|month=April|title=In Canada, finis for 40-footers|journal=Trains Magazine|volume=57|issue=4|pages=17–18]

August events

* August 19 - Metra's North Central Service commuter rail line begins operations on the Milwaukee District West Line and on the Wisconsin Central Railroad between Union Station in downtown Chicago and Antioch.

September events

* September 14 - The York Durham Heritage Railway begins operations on CN's former branch between Uxbridge and Stouffville, Ontario. [cite web|title=York-Durham Heritage Railway|url=http://www.ydhr.on.ca/WelcomePage.html|accessdate=2007-07-20]

October events

* October 1 - The Norwegian Railway Inspectorate is created.
* October 13 - Further British train operating companies begin operation of their passenger service franchises as part of the privatisation of British Rail: Cardiff Railway Company (operating as Valley Lines) and Wales and West (both subsidiaries of Prism Rail); Connex South Eastern; Island Line, Isle of Wight (Stagecoach Group); and Thames Trains (Go-Ahead Group).
* 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 1 - Norges Statsbaner, the national railway of Norway, is created by the Norwegian National Rail Administration.
* December 4 - Passenger service resumes through the Channel Tunnel.
* December 5
** Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway reopens Stampede Pass in Washington and resumes operating freight trains over the line.cite web|title=Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railroad reopens Stampede Pass line on December 5, 1996|work=HistoryLink.org|url=http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=7364|accessmonthday=5 December|accessyear=2005]
** Canadian National Railway (CN) operates its last train of grain to be hauled in 40 ft (12 m) boxcars; CN SD40s numbered 5256 and 5051 depart Canora, Saskatchewan, with a train of 114 such boxcars bound for Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Thunder Bay, Ontario.
* December 30
** Dallas Area Rapid Transit opens the first line of Trinity Railway Express between Dallas and Irving, Texas.Trinity Railway Express, [http://www.trinityrailwayexpress.org/traininfo.html Significant dates in Trinity Railway Express history] . Retrieved December 27 2005.] DART, [http://www.dart.org/history.asp DART history] . Retrieved December 27 2005.]
** The Brahmaputra Mail train bombing: a bomb explodes a train travelling in Lower Assam in Eastern India, totally destroying three carriages of the train and derailing six more, killing at least 33 people.
* December 31 - The Burlington Northern Railroad and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway merge to form the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway.

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. [cite web|title=Union Pacific Railroad Chronological History: The 1800s|work=Union Pacific Railroad|url=http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/history/uprr-chr.shtml|accessmonthday=22 July|accessyear=2005] 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.
* Construction begins on San Juan, Puerto Rico's Tren Urbano mass transit system. [cite journal|title=Setbacks for Puerto Rico's system|journal=Trains Magazine|pages=p 31|date=May 2002]

Deaths

May deaths

* May - Carl Fallberg, cartoonist who created Fiddletown & Copperopolis (b. 1915).cite journal|year=1997|month=February|title=Obituary|journal=Trains Magazine|volume=57|issue=2|pages=18A]

References

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