October 2010 in rail transport

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

Events

October 1

• – Skotterud train derailment: A Jernbaneverket passenger train derails at Skotterud, Norway. Passengers report loud noises, sudden braking and a crash that some thought resulted from a collision with a vehicle. No deaths are reported, but about forty of the train's 300 passengers are injured in the accident.^[1]

October 2

• – Petarukan train collision: Two high speed intercity trains collide with each other at Petarukan in Pemalang Regency of Central Java, Indonesia. Initial reports attribute the accident to an error in signalling; 36 passengers were killed in the accident and 50 more were injured. The accident was the deadliest in Indonesia since the Bintaro train crash on 19 October 1987, which killed 156 people.^[2][3][4]

October 15

• – Breakthrough in construction of Gotthard Base Tunnel (57 km (35 mi)) after fourteen years of tunnelling.^[5]

October 26

• – The Shanghai–Hangzhou High-Speed Railway opens in China. Construction work started on February 26, 2009. This 154 km (96 mi) long railway took only 20 months to be built. Trains will run up to 350 km/h (220 mph) on the line, cutting the 169 km (105 mi) trip between Shanghai's Hongqiao Station to Hangzhou Station to 45 minutes.^[6]

October 30

• – Construction work of the Jilin–Hunchun High-Speed Railway begins in China. This 359 km (223 mi) long railway will be an extension of the Changchun–Jilin High-Speed Railway. 66% of the line will be built on bridges or in tunnels. There will be 106 bridges (totaling 87 km or 54 mi) and 86 tunnels (totaling 149 km or 93 mi) on the line. Nine stations will be built. The investment is estimated to be CN¥41.6 billion (US$6.24 billion). Trains will run up to 250 km/h (160 mph) on the line, cutting the rail travel time between Changchun and Hunchun from 9 hours to 2.5.^[7]

References