October 2008 in rail transport

This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in October 2008.

Events

October 1

• – The United States Federal Railroad Administration issues an emergency order banning the use of cell phones and other electronic devices by railroad employees while operating trains. The order comes in the wake of the September 12 Metrolink collision in which cell phone use is believed to have distracted the engineer from obeying a stop signal. While many U.S. railroad companies already had rules prohibiting such cell phone usage, the new order applies to all railroads that operate in the U.S.^[1][2]

October 2

• – Western Railway (India) opens broad gauge line from Pratapnagar to Dabhoi following gauge conversion from 2 ft 6 in. (760 mm), the first conversion of the Dabhoi network, previously operated on the narrow gauge continuously since 1873.^[3]

October 3

• – Sir Ian McAllister announces that he will not stand for reelection to continue as chairman of Network Rail, the company that maintains the rail transport infrastructure in Britain. He has held this position for six years. In making the announcement, Sir Ian noted that as Network Rail moves to a "new phase in its development," it is appropriate that there be a new chairman to lead it there.^[4]

October 6

• – Transportation officials in Vietnam announce plans to build two new urban railway systems. About half of the $15 billion allocated for the projects will fund new tramways in Hanoi, while the rest will fund a new subway in Ho Chi Minh City. Officials expect to open the new systems by 2020.^[5]

• – 2008 Monorierdő train collision A regular passenger train coming from Nyíregyháza collides with the Hajdú InterCity train which was on its way from Debrecen to Budapest. Four passengers die at the scene and 27 others are injured and treated at area hospitals. Both Pál Szabó, the traffic minister of Hungary and Miklós Kamarás, the president of MÁV (Hungarian State Railways Co.) submit their resignations after the accident; Prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsány accepted both, however, he didn't accept the resignation of István Heinczinger, CEO of MÁV.^[6][7][8]

October 7

• – Construction work of the Jingshi Passenger Railway begins in China. The 281 km (175 mi) long railway will connect Beijing and Shijiazhuang, with a design speed of 350 km/h (220 mph), and is expected to be open in 2012. This railway will be part of the future longer railway line between Beijing and Guangzhou.^[9]
• – Railway construction workers in Rason, North Korea, hold a ceremony laying the first rails at Duman River railway station to mark the beginning of construction of the line between Rason and Khasan, Russia. The 54-kilometre (34 mi) long line will reconnect the two nations by rail; the project is expected to cost $195 million, of which, $72 million will be paid by Russia.^[10] The line is 1,520 mm (4 ft 11 ²⁷⁄₃₂ in).

October 9

• – Toll Holdings of Australia announces that it has entered into a contract to manage the Kenya-Uganda railway, replacing the management by Rift Valley Railways Consortium (RVR). The consortium has been criticized for falling freight traffic in the two years since taking control, while RVR alleges the drop is due to the poor condition of the railway infrastructure and the damage done by protesters during the 2007–2008 Kenyan crisis. Officers from Toll subsidiary Patrick Defence Logistics will manage the railway after the transition.^[11]

October 11

• – The first isolated section of 66 kilometres (41 mi) between Rajwansher and Anantnag on the Kashmir Railway in the state of Jammu and Kashmir is inaugurated. The train service will operate twice a day in either direction and marks the first train service in the Kashmir Valley of India.^[12]

October 13

• – Construction work of the Guiguang Railway begins in China. The 857 km (533 mi) long railway will connect Guizhou and Guangzhou, with a design speed of 200 km/h (120 mph), and is expected to be completed in 6 years. The project will cost CN¥85.8 billion. Thirty railway stations will be built along the line.^[13]

October 15

• – Construction work of the Shiwu Passenger Railway begins in China. The 841 km (523 mi) long railway will connect Shijiazhuang and Wuhan, with a design speed of 350 km/h (220 mph), and is expected to be completed in 4 years. This railway is estimated to cost 117 billion yuan and will be part of the future longer railway line between Beijing and Guangzhou.^[14]

October 16

• – Karnataka's Chief Minister B. S. Yeddyurappa notifies India's Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav of the state's willingness to offer land and infrastructure to build a railway coach factory in the state. The communication comes after the state of Uttar Pradesh dropped similar plans to build the factory in Rai Bareilly.^[15]
• – A spokesperson for Germany's Finance Ministry announces that the planned initial public offering of stock in Deutsche Bahn (DB) has been postponed indefinitely due to the current troubles in worldwide financial markets. The German government had planned that the IPO, projected to be the largest European IPO in 2008, would be held on October 27. DB's CEO Hartmut Mehdorn and CFO Diethelm Sack will travel to various locations in Asia and the Middle East speaking to potential investors about the delay.^[16]

October 20

• – The United States Federal Railroad Administration announces that it will begin accepting applications for funding on new maglev projects east of the Mississippi River. The $45 million grants are limited by the SAFETEA-LU Technical Corrections Act of 2008 to projects on routes along the corridors of Pittsburgh-Baltimore-Washington, D.C. and Atlanta-Chattanooga.^[17]

October 22

• – JR Central issues a report showing that three routes for the proposed Chuo Shinkansen line between Tokyo and Nagoya are feasible. All of the three proposed routes include the current test line east of Kofu. West of Kofu, JR Central's preferred route continues straight through the mountains while two alternate routes swing north around the mountains through other cities in Nagano Prefecture and rejoin the main route east of Nakatsugawa. JR Central hopes to have the line open by 2025.^[18]
• – Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meet to sign an agreement of a ¥450 billion loan to build a new freight railway line between New Delhi and Mumbai. The loan is the largest of all foreign infrastructure development projects financed by Japan. The project includes not only construction of the 1,468 km (912 mi) line, but also enhance development of various economic sectors along the line.^[19][20]

October 24

• – Deutsche Bahn (DB) temporarily removes all ICE-T trains from service after a crack is found in an axle of one of the company's fleet of trains. All of the trains will be inspected for similar cracks and repaired as necessary before DB returns them to service. DB made the decision to sideline the trains after consultation with Siemens, Bombardier, and Alstom, the trains' manufacturers, revealed only "unclear information" about the expected life span of the axles.^[21]
• – Government representatives in India announce that the majority of 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 ³⁄₈ in) metre gauge lines in the country will be converted to broad gauge within the next 4-5 years. The work, which also includes ten new construction projects connecting seven states, is part of Project Unigauge. About one sixth of the total railway lines in India are metre gauge.^[22]

October 27

• – Officials with the Chinese Railway Ministry announce the approval of a 2 trillion yuan spending budget for new construction and improvements to the nation's railway system. Projects already being planned will expand the system from its current 78,000 kilometres (48,000 mi) to 120,000 kilometres (75,000 mi) by 2020. The Railway Ministry hopes that the construction and new lines will help promote economic growth and ease congestion as well as help to unite remote regions of the country.^[23]

October 30

• – Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) assumes full operational control of Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad (DM&E) and its subsidiary Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad (IC&E). CP plans to invest $300 million in capital improvements to the former DM&E lines by 2011. The DM&E/IC&E network comprised the largest Class II railroad system in North America and it was the only Class II railroad to connect to all seven of the current Class I railroads.^[24]
• – Britain's Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) declines to include double tracking work on a section of the former Great Western Railway line between Kemble and Swindon (now known as the Golden Valley Line) in the 2009-2014 improvements budget. The Gloucestershire County Council promoted the project as a way to promote economic development in the county and to ease traffic on the Severn Tunnel line. The ORR stated the improvement was beyond the scope of government's goals to improve punctuality and capacity but the project could proceed if funding came from other sources.^[25]

late October (approx.)

• – Last regular operation of steam locomotives in Serbia, at the Kolubara power station/coal mining complex at Vreoci.^[26]

References