Trisha Shetty (Editor)

2016 in rail transport

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This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in 2016.

Contents

January events

  • January 22–24 – In anticipation of heavy snowfall and preparation for the effects of winter storm Jonas, Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (WMATA) shuts down all services for the weekend. Metrorail services were suspended completely for two days and was restored to normal service in phases up until January 29. During the shutdown, trains were stored in the system's subway tunnels to shelter them from the storm.
  • January 23 – The First Hill Streetcar line opens in Seattle

    • February events

  • February 27 – The DC Streetcar opens in Washington, DC, after several years of delays.

    • March events

  • March 5 – The Gold Line Foothill Extension in Los Angeles County, California opens, extending the Metro Rail light rail system by 11.5 miles (18.5 km) to Azusa, California.
  • March 16 – The entire Washington Metro system, the second largest subway system in the United States, is shut down on a weekday for 24 hours during emergency inspections of jumper cables in tunnels. The shutdown followed an electrical fire caused by a jumper cable two days prior.
  • March 19
  • The first phase of Valley Metro Rail's Northwest Extension in Phoenix, Arizona opens.
  • Sound Transit opens a Link Light Rail extension in Seattle, Washington to the University of Washington campus.
  • March 22 – 2016 Brussels bombings: 21 are killed by a terrorist suicide bomb in a subway car at Maelbeek/Maalbeek metro station.
  • March 26 – The first segment of the Hokkaido Shinkansen opens, bringing high-speed rail service to Hokkaido.

    • April events

  • April 1 - Arriva Rail North (branded as Northern) begins operating the Northern franchise, which was previously held by Northern Rail.
  • April 5 – Indian Railways (Northern Railway zone) inaugurates semi high speed luxury Gatimaan Express between Delhi Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station and Agra Cantonment.
  • April 22 – The A Line in Denver, Colorado, an electrified commuter rail link between Union Station and Denver International Airport owned by RTD, begins service.

    • May events

  • May 20 – The second phase of the Expo Line light rail in Los Angeles, California opens, extending the line to Santa Monica, California.

    • June events

  • June 1 – Opening of the Gotthard Base Tunnel, the world's longest and deepest rail tunnel.
  • June 4 – Beginning of "SafeTrack" program by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to conduct emergency maintenance on the aging Washington Metro system, with expected single-tracking and shutdowns scheduled to last until March 2017.
  • June 6 – Opening of the Perris Valley extension of the 91 Line, a commuter rail line operated by Metrolink in Southern California, from Riverside to Perris.
  • June 19 - Opening of Kirkstall Forge railway station in England, close to the site of the earlier station with the same name (1860-1905)
  • June - The last locomotives are removed from the strategic steam reserve in Sweden in working order.

    • July events

  • July 3 – Phase 2 of LGV Est, including the Saverne Tunnel, opens, extending the line from Baudrecort to Vendenheim near Strasbourg.
  • July 12 – Andria-Corato train collision: at least 23 killed and 50 injured by a head-on collision of two passenger trains on a single-track railroad in the Apulia region of Italy.
  • July 25 – Opening of the B Line commuter rail system in Denver, Colorado.

    • September events

  • September 9 – Cincinnati Bell Connector opens to the public with Free ride weekend after years of planning and building bringing streetcar service back to Cincinnati for the first time since the 1950s.
  • September 24 – Angle Lake station near Seattle, Washington opens, extending Link light rail service past SeaTac Airport.
  • September 30 – The Wachusett station near Boston, Massachusetts, extending the MBTA Commuter Rail system by 4.5 miles (7.2 km), begins limited service, with full service beginning in November.

    • October events

  • October 24 – Opening of the South Oak Cliff extension of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Blue Line to University of North Texas at Dallas.

    • November events

  • November 8 – Major mass transit expansions are approved by voters in U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle (Sound Transit 3), and Atlanta.
  • November 20 – Pukhrayan train derailment: Indian Railways' Indore–Patna Express derails at Pukhrayan near Kanpur with at least 146 fatalities.
  • November 28 – The double-track high-speed section from Larvik to Porsgrunn on the Vestfold Line, including the Holmestrandsporten, opens for service.

    • References

    2016 in rail transport Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA