December 2010 in rail transport

This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in December 2010.

Events

December 7

• – UIC HIGHSPEED 2010, the 7th World Congress on High Speed Rail, opens in Beijing, China. The 2010 conference is hosted by the Chinese Ministry of Railways with a theme highlighting the use of high-speed rail as a means toward more environmentally friendly transportation. The conference will close on December 9; in previous years, the conference has been held in Amsterdam, Milan, Madrid, Berlin, Lille and Brussels.^[1]

December 12

• – The Perthus TP-Ferro Tunnel, built in 2009 but since unused, starts operations with two TGV Figueres - Paris Gare de Lyon trains daily. From Figueres to Barcelona RENFE provides a linking train as the spanish high speed line is still unfinished.

December 22

• – The Yichang–Wanzhou Railway, the most difficult-to-build line in China to date, opens. The railway is 377 km (234 mi) long and the maximum speed on the line is 160 km/h (99 mph). Construction work began in December 2003.^[2]

December 30

• – The Hainan East Ring Railway opens and the construction of the Hainan West Ring Railway begins in Hainan Island, China. The designed speed of these two railways is 250 km/h (155 mph). The West Ring will be 345 kilometres (214 mi) long, is expected to open in 4 years.^[3]

References