Events

January

* 18 January – Brand new V250-high speed EMU's taken out of

Fyra Fyra (pronounced ) was an international high-speed rail service between the Netherlands and Belgium using the AnsaldoBreda V250 train. The service used the HSL-Zuid and HSL 4 railway lines to connect Amsterdam, Schiphol Airport, Rotterdam, Antwer ...

-service definitely due to poor quality. * 28 January –

New Orleans Regional Transit Authority The New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (RTA or NORTA) is a public transportation agency based in New Orleans. The agency was established by the Louisiana State Legislature in 1979, and has operated bus and historic streetcar service throughou ...

Loyola Avenue Streetcar Line opened.

February

* 10 February – opening of

Milan Metro Line 5 Line 5 is an underground rapid transit line in Milan, Italy, part of the Milan Metro. The line, also known as M5 or the Purple Line (''Linea Viola'' in Italian), is long and goes through the city from the north to the north-west. It opened in st ...

. * 11 February –

Manchester Metrolink Manchester Metrolink (branded locally simply as Metrolink) is a tram/ light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. The network has 99 stops along of standard-gauge route, making it the most extensive light rail system in the United Kin ...

light rail system

East Manchester Line The East Manchester Line (EML) is a tram line of the Manchester Metrolink in Greater Manchester, England, running from Manchester to Ashton-under-Lyne via Droylsden and Audenshaw. The line opened in 2013 as part of phase three of the system's exp ...

opened to

Droylsden Droylsden is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, east of Manchester city centre and west of Ashton-under-Lyne, with a population at the 2011 Census of 22,689. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, in the ...

. * 24 February – The

platform Platform may refer to: Technology * Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run * Platform game, a genre of video games * Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models * Weapons platform, a system or ...

s at

Togoshi-kōen Station is a railway station on the Tokyu Oimachi Line in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Tokyu Corporation. Station layout The station consists of two ground-level side platforms serving two tracks. These were origina ...

, on the

Tokyu Oimachi Line Tokyu may refer to: * Tokyu Group, a group of companies centered on Tokyu Corporation ** Tokyu Corporation, a Japanese railway company, the largest member and parent company of the group ** Tokyu Car Corporation, a former Japanese railway vehicle m ...

Shinagawa, Tokyo is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. The Ward refers to itself as Shinagawa City in English. The Ward is home to ten embassies. , the Ward had an estimated population of 380,293 and a population density of 16,510 persons per km2. The total are ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, are extended from three car lengths to five.

March

* 16 March –

Shibuya Station is a railway station in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, operated jointly by East Japan Railway Company (JR East), Keio Corporation, Tokyu Corporation, and Tokyo Metro. With 2.4 million passengers on an average weekday in 2004, it is the fourth-busiest c ...

Tokyu Toyoko Line Tokyu may refer to: * Tokyu Group, a group of companies centered on Tokyu Corporation ** Tokyu Corporation, a Japanese railway company, the largest member and parent company of the group ** Tokyu Car Corporation, a former Japanese railway vehicle m ...

move on underground station from ground station, with direct commuter express train start on Motomachi-Chūkagai of

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

Hanno Hanno may refer to: People * Hanno (given name) :* Hanunu (8th century BC), Philistine king previously rendered by scholars as "Hanno" *Hanno ( xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤀 , '; , ''Hannōn''), common Carthaginian name :* Hanno the Navigator, Carthagi ...

Seibu Ikebukuro Line The is a railway line of the Japanese private railway operator Seibu Railway. It originates at Ikebukuro Station, a large railway junction in north-western Tokyo, extending to northwest suburbs as far as Tokorozawa, Saitama, and nominally term ...

, Kawagoeshi of

Tobu Tojo Line is a Japanese commuter railway and ''keiretsu'' holding company in the Greater Tokyo Area as well as an intercity and regional operator in the Kantō region. Excluding the Japan Railways Group companies, Tobu's rail system is the second longes ...

, via

Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line The , formally the , is a subway line operated by Tokyo Metro in west-central Tokyo and Wako, Saitama, Japan. The newest line in the Tokyo subway network, it opened in stages between 1994 and 2008. On average, the Fukutoshin line carries 362,654 ...

. Tokyu Toyoko Line ends serving Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line trains. However, Hibiya Line trains are still able to run more than for one trip during through-train services.

April

* 14 April –

Utah Transit Authority The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) is a special service district responsible for providing public transportation throughout the Wasatch Front of Utah, in the United States, which includes the metropolitan areas of Ogden, Park City, Provo, Salt ...

's TRAX light rail Green Line extends service west from

downtown Salt Lake City Downtown (also called City Center) is the oldest district in Salt Lake City, Utah. The grid from which the entire city is laid out originates at Temple Square, the location of the Salt Lake Temple. Location Downtown Salt Lake City is usually def ...

to the

Salt Lake City International Airport Salt Lake City International Airport is a civil-military airport located about west of Downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, in the United States. The airport is the closest commercial airport for more than 2.5 million people and is within a 30-minu ...

. * 26 April – RTD's W-Line light rail corridor extends service west from

Denver Union Station Denver Union Station is the main railway station and central transportation hub in Denver, Colorado. It is located at 17th and Wynkoop Streets in the present-day LoDo district and includes the historic station house, a modern open-air train shed, ...

Golden Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershir ...

. This is the first

FasTracks FasTracks is a multibillion-dollar public transportation expansion plan under construction in metropolitan Denver, Colorado, United States. Developed by the Regional Transportation District (RTD), the plan consists of new commuter rail, light r ...

corridor to be completed.

May

* 10 May –

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...

announces the appointment of James A. Squires to become the railroad's new president effective 1 June. * 26 May –

National Express National Express Group is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Birmingham, England. It operates bus, coach, train and tram services in the United Kingdom, Ireland (National Express operates Eurolines in conjunction ...

Essex Thameside Essex Thameside is a railway franchise for the provision of passenger services on the London, Tilbury and Southend line in east London and south Essex. It was formed on 26 May 1996, following the privatisation of British Rail and the franchise wa ...

franchise,

c2c Trenitalia c2c Limited,Companies House extract company no 789726 ...

expires; extended through 2014. * 27 May – CapeFLYER summer weekend service from Boston, Massachusetts to

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

begun.

July

* 1 July – Opening of

Hangzhou–Ningbo High-Speed Railway The Hangzhou–Ningbo high-speed railway, or Hangyong high-speed railway () or Hang-Yong Passenger Dedicated Railway) is a China Railway High-speed line between the major cities of Hangzhou and Ningbo in Zhejiang province. It spans approxima ...

and Nanjing–Hangzhou Passenger Railway. * 6 July – Lac-Mégantic derailment: 47 people are killed in explosions and fire after an unattended train carrying

Bakken formation The Bakken Formation () is a rock unit from the Late Devonian to Early Mississippian age occupying about of the subsurface of the Williston Basin, underlying parts of Montana, North Dakota, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The formation was initi ...

crude oil runs away and derails in Lac-Mégantic,

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. It becomes the deadliest rail accident in Canadian history since 1864. * 24 July –

Santiago de Compostela derailment The Santiago de Compostela derailment occurred on 24 July 2013, when an Alvia high-speed train traveling from Madrid to Ferrol, in the north-west of Spain, derailed at high speed on a bend about outside of the railway station at Santiago de ...

: 79 people are killed when an

Alvia Alvia is a high-speed train service in Spain used by Renfe Operadora for long-distance service with a top speed of . The trains have the ability to use both Iberian gauge and standard gauge, which allows them to travel on the recently constructed ...

train derails at excessive speed on a curve in

Galicia (Spain) Galicia (; gl, Galicia or ; es, Galicia}; pt, Galiza) is an autonomous community of Spain and historic nationality under Spanish law. Located in the northwest Iberian Peninsula, it includes the provinces of A Coruña, Lugo, Ourense, and ...

August

* 18 August –

's TRAX light rail Blue Line extends service further south from Sandy to

Draper Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. History Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period ...

September

* 15 September –

Xi'an Metro The Xi'an Metro, also known as the Xi'an Rail Transit, is a rapid transit system in the city of Xi'an and the neighbouring city of Xianyang, in Shaanxi province, China. The system has 8 lines in operation. Line 2 opened to the public on Septembe ...

Line 1 opened. * 26 September –

Harbin Metro The Harbin Metro is the rapid transit system of Harbin, the provincial capital of Heilongjiang Province in northeastern China.́ The system began operation on 26 September 2013 with the opening of Line 1. The system has a total of three lines as ...

Line 1 opened.

October

* 15 October – The

Kyushu Railway Company The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan and the JR Kyushu Jet Ferry Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait ...

(

Japan Railways Group The Japan Railways Group, more commonly known as the or simply JR, consists of seven for-profit stock companies that took over most of the assets and operations of the government-owned Japanese National Railways (JNR) on April 1, 1987. Mo ...

) launches the '

Seven Stars in Kyushu The is a deluxe sleeping car excursion train operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) in Japan since October 2013. Design The overall design concept of the train was overseen by industrial designer Eiji Mitooka. The name of the train is ...

' luxury sleeping car excursion train from

Hakata Station is a major railway station in Hakata-ku, Fukuoka, Japan. It is the largest and busiest railway terminal in Kyushu, and is a gateway to other cities in Kyushu for travelers coming from Honshu by rail travel. The San'yō Shinkansen from Osaka end ...

with dedicated diesel locomotive haulage. * 29 October – Completion of

Marmaray The Marmaray () is a intercontinental commuter rail line in Istanbul, Turkey. A rail tunnel running under the Bosphorus strait was connected to an upgraded version of the old suburban train service (known as the banliyö), allowing trains ...

suburban rail project in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

with official opening of its Marmaray Tunnel under the

Bosphorus The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern Tu ...

, the first

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...

rail connection between Europe and Asia.

November

* 3 November – Standseilbahn Linth-Limmern

funicular A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite en ...

opens.

December

* 8 December –

S Line S, or s, is the nineteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''. Histor ...

(formerly known as Sugar House Streetcar) opens with service from

South Salt Lake South Salt Lake is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States and is part of the Salt Lake City Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 23,617 at the 2010 census. History Jesse Fox Jr. developed the area South Salt Lake referre ...

to the

Sugar House A sugar shack (french: cabane à sucre), also known as sap house, sugar house, sugar shanty or sugar cabin is a commercial establishment, primarily found in Eastern Canada and northern New England. Sugar shacks are small cabins or groups of cab ...

neighborhood of

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

. * 22 December –

Downtown MRT Line zh, 滨海市区地铁线 ta, டவுன்டவுன் எம்ஆர்டி வழி , color = , logo = Downtown Line logo.svg , logo_width = 250px , image = DT17 Downtown Platform B 1.jpg , i ...

Phase 1 scheduled to open. * 28 December – Opening of high speed

Xiamen–Shenzhen Railway The Xiamen–Shenzhen railway, also known as the Xiashen railway, () is a dual-track, electrified, high-speed rail line connecting the major coastal cities of Xiamen in Fujian and Shenzhen in Guangdong. The line has a total length of and forms ...

in southern China, fully completing the Hangzhou–Fuzhou–Shenzhen High-Speed Railway. * 28 December – Wuhan Metro Line 4 and Suzhou Metro Line 2, including Zhengzhou Metro has been opened. * 29 December –

Shanghai Metro The Shanghai Metro (; Shanghainese: ''Zaon6he5 Di6thiq7'') is a rapid transit system in Shanghai, operating urban and suburban transit services to 14 of its 16 municipal districts and to Kunshan, Jiangsu Province. Served as a part of Shangha ...

Lines 12 and 16 opened.

Deaths

* 28 May – Isabel Benham, American railroad financial expert, dies (b. 1909). * 23 August – Richard J. Corman, founder and owner of

R.J. Corman Railroad Group R. J. Corman Railroad Group, LLC is a privately owned railroad services and short line operating company headquartered in Nicholasville, KY, with field locations in 22 states. It was owned by Richard J. Corman, who established the company in ...

, dies (b. 1955).

Industry awards

Japan

; Awards presented by the Japan Railfan Club * 2013 Blue Ribbon Award:

Tokyo Metro 1000 series The is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by the Tokyo subway operator Tokyo Metro in Japan on the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line since April 2012. The first trainset was delivered in September 2011 ahead of entry into revenue servi ...

EMU

References

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