August 2005 in rail transport

Events

August 1

– Kilkis, northern Greece: A truck driver is killed after he ignored grade crossing warning signs and his truck is hit by an oncoming passenger train of the Hellenic Railways Organization. The train's crew are only slightly injured, and all of the train's passengers are uninjured and continue their journey by bus. (Kathimerini)

– Union Pacific Railroad and CSX Transportation announce a joint venture to dispatch unit trains of produce (including apples, pears, potatoes and onions) between Wallula, Washington, and Albany, New York, interchanging from one railroad to the other in Chicago. The terminal facilities in Washington and New York will be owned and operated by Railex, LLC. The new trains will use newly built 64 ft (19.5 m) long refrigerator cars equipped with GPS tracking and advanced temperature monitoring equipment to ensure consistent temperatures for the trains' 124-hour coast to coast schedules. The new service is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2006. (UP)

– Britain's Network Rail announces that it has awarded a group of contracts worth an estimated £60 million to upgrade and overhaul the railroad's signalling system in south Wales. The contracts, awarded to Atkins Rail, Birse Rail and Armey Rail, encompasses Network Rail's Port Talbot East Re-signalling Project to replace equipment that dates to the 1960s; the project was scheduled to be completed in 2007. (RailStaff)

August 2

– Raleigh, North Carolina, United States: A dump truck drives around the gates at a grade crossing and is struck by Amtrak's northbound Carolinian passenger train. Both occupants of the dump truck died at the scene, 15 of the train's occupants suffered minor injuries, and the remaining 182 passengers are bussed to another train to continue their journey to New York City. (WRAL)

August 3

– The city of Roseville, California, officially opens the new display location for Southern Pacific 2252, a preserved Southern Pacific Railroad 4-6-0 originally built by Cooke Locomotive Works (builder's serial number 2360) in March 1897. From 1929 until the locomotive was retired in 1955, it was used in firefighting service over Donner Pass.^[1] The new display site overlooks the former SP (now Union Pacific Railroad) yard in Roseville and features solar-powered lights to illuminate the locomotive at night. The locomotive was moved from its old display site at the Placer County Fairgrounds in October 2004. (Rocklin and Roseville Today)

– 43 cars (nearly all of them tank cars) of a 140-car westbound Canadian National Railway (CN) train from Edmonton to Vancouver derail at Wabamun, Alberta, about 50 km west of Edmonton, sending nearly 1.3 million litres of oil into nearby waterways including Wabamun Lake. Local residents are evacuated as at least one of the derailed tank cars carried toluene. No injuries are reported, but the accident closes CN's mainline for 36 hours while crews clean up the spill. The closure also impacts Via Rail Canada's passenger trains, requiring passengers to be bussed around the accident scene. (Trainboard) (Reuters)

August 4

– Russian President Vladimir Putin visits a railroad technology development and testing center near Shcherbinka; one of the highlights of the visit is Yermak (named in honor of Yermak Timofeyevich who helped open Siberia to Russian expansion), the first new domestic locomotive built in Russia in nearly 25 years. The new electric locomotive is anticipated to use 15% less energy to operate than comparable foreign-built locomotives. (ITAR-TASS)

– Argentinian railroad workers across the country (except for the subway operators in Buenos Aires) go on strike for 24 hours demanding higher wages. The strike comes after 100 days of failed negotiations between the railroads and the engine driver unions; if an agreement cannot be reached within a week, the unions have threatened a subsequent 36-hour strike. The railroad employees strike coincides with a 72-hour health care workers strike that is still occurring. (Prensa Latina)

August 5

– About 100 residents of Wabamun, Alberta, Canada, participate in a five-hour blockade in protest on the Canadian National Railway mainline through the community. The protesters aim for more frequent updates and a better response to the spillage of nearly 1,300,000 litres (340,000 US gal) of heavy bunker fuel oil after the derailment there on August 3. (CBC)

- Cheakamus River derailment - A Canadian National Railway train derails near Squamish, British Columbia (about 30 km south of Whistler), on the former BC Rail mainline. Nine cars fell off of a bridge landing in the Cheakumus River below. Of the 9 cars, most were lumber flat cars, but one was a chemical tank car that spilled 40,000 litres of Sodium Hydroxide into the river. The spill had a large negative impact on the fish population of the area.

August 6

– The city of Toledo, Ohio prepares the paperwork to file suit against Norfolk Southern Railway. After a steel plate weighing 24 pounds (11 kg) was thrown by two people off an overpass, and then the plate fell onto a passing automobile killing its driver, the city vowed to put up fences on all of the overpasses in the city to prevent a similar accident from recurring. The city claims that NS has been unresponsive in getting the fences installed and plans to sue the railroad to get the work completed. NS has declined comment stating that it is the railroad's policy not to comment on any pending lawsuits. (WTOL)

August 8

United States – Norfolk Southern Railway contacts the office of the mayor of Toledo, Ohio, in response to the threatened lawsuit. The railroad has committed to doing what needs to be done to put up the fences that the city wanted on the railroad overpasses, and the city suspends its legal action against the railroad. (WTOL)

August 9

United States – BNSF Railway rejects a proposal made by Southern California officials in Riverside and Orange Counties to build an elevated freeway above its tracks adjacent to the Riverside Freeway. BNSF claims that the construction would be too disruptive of the traffic on the railroad, traffic which serves the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. BNSF also cited the difficulties such a freeway would cause the railroad when it would want to expand its own right-of-way to add more tracks along the corridor. (KTLA) (LA Times)

– Officials of the Abkhazian delegation to talks on rebuilding the railroad link between Russia and Georgia through Abkhazia disrupt the proceedings by refusing to allow two Georgian officials entry to the meeting in Sukhumi. The Abkhazian officials refuse entry on the grounds that the two Georgian officials "are internally displaced persons who fled Abkhazia during the 1992–93 war." Previous meetings between Abkhazian and Georgian officials have proceeded without incident; a subsequent meeting date has not been announced. (Eurasia Daily Monitor)

August 10

United States – Paducah and Louisville Railway (PAL) and CSX Transportation (CSX) announce that PAL will lease 124.5 miles (200.4 km) of track from CSX to form a new Class III railroad. The new railroad, the Evansville Western Railway (EVWR), will operate as a subsidiary to PAL over the leased track between Evansville, Indiana, and Okawville, Illinois, which includes part of CSX's Mount Vernon Branch. PAL has secured a 20-year lease on the track with an option for a five-year extension for an undisclosed sum. (Evansville Courier) (STB)

United States – The Flying Yankee trainset, one of the earliest streamliners built in 1935 by General Motors Electro-Motive Division for the Boston and Maine Railroad soon after the Burlington's Pioneer Zephyr, is moved from its display location to Lincoln, New Hampshire. The train has already had a cosmetic restoration, now it will undergo a mechanical restoration so it can travel under its own power again. (NH Union Leader)

August 13

– Russian president Vladimir Putin names Alexander Tishanin, currently head of the East Siberian Railway to become governor of Irkutsk. Tishanin was appointed to the railroad in 2004, succeeding Alexander Kasyanov after safety concerns were raised on the railroad with four serious accidents in 2003 and 2004. Previously, Tishanin was deputy head of Transbaikal Railway. (Kommersant)

August 14

– Ofer Linchevski is appointed as the new general manager of Israel Railways. Linchevski leaves a lucrative position as CEO of Egged Holdings and CFO of Egged bus cooperative, where he was involved in projects including the Carmel Tunnels, Yitzhak Rabin Highway and public transportation reforms. He is expected to begin his tenure at Israel Railways in the beginning of September. (Globes)

August 15

– A new Class III railroad, the Yellowstone Valley Railroad owned by Watco Companies, begins operations over 172 miles (277 km) of tracks leased from BNSF Railway in two sections between Glendive and Snowden, Montana, with the second section between Bainville and Scobey. YVRR's lease extends for 15 years. (Sidney Herald) (STB)

– All America Latina Logistica SA (ALL) of Brazil announces that it has formed a partnership with Besco Engineering and Services Private Limited of India to build new railroad cars in Brazil. The new enterprise, to be named Santa Fe Vagoes SA, will be located in Brazil and 40% owned by ALL. (Bloomberg)

August 16

– New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway files suit in U.S. District Court in an attempt to reduce or eliminate nearly US$2.5 million in fines imposed by agencies of the state of New Jersey for alleged pollution and environmental regulation violations. State officials claim that the railroad's five construction sites in North Bergen are operating in violation of state regulations in regard to environmental issues. The railroad claims that the regulations and fines "are preempted by federal law and are an unconstitutional interference with interstate commerce." Judge Katherine S. Hayden granted the railroad a temporary block until the case can be more thoroughly reviewed at a hearing on September 26. (North Jersey Media).

– One maintenance of way employee on High Speed 1 dies and a second is treated for severe burns when a fire erupts at a railway tunnel construction site at Swanscombe, Kent, England. About 50 firefighters responded to the blaze around 7:15 PM local time. Initial reports indicate the cause of the fire may be a collision between two work trains. Regular Eurostar service between England and France is unaffected by the incident. (Edinburgh News) (Reuters UK)

August 17

– The 150th anniversary of the opening of the Inverness and Nairn Railway in Scotland is commemorated with the official naming of unit 158720 (a Class 158 DMU) "Inverness and Nairn Railway – 150 Years". The naming ceremony, which included attendees from the Association Française des Amis des Chemins de Fer, is presided over by Mary Dickson, managing director of First ScotRail, and carried out by Her Grace the Countess of Seafield. In 1854, when construction began, an earlier Countess of Seafield turned the first shovel of dirt at the groundbreaking ceremony and was aboard the first train in 1855. (RailStaff)

August 18

– More than 500 commuters in Thane, India, protest the slow restoration of service on Indian Railways after heavy rain and flooding closed a part of the Central Railway on July 26. The protesters squatted on the tracks at 10:30 AM local time, blocking the trains from advancing. The protest affected all trains headed toward Mumbai, forcing them to stop at various points along the railroad. (rediff) (Mumbai Newsline)

– Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco signs the state's Railroad Safety Bill into law. The new law mandates that US$25 out of every railroad-related fine imposed in the state will be used to pay for improved or replacement safety devices at railroad grade crossings across the state. The bill signing ceremony was held in Tangipahoa Parish, northwest of New Orleans, where many accidents have occurred already in 2005. Across the state in 2004 there were 25 deaths at grade crossing accidents. (The Advocate)

August 20

– Authorities in the Jamnagar district of Gujarat, India, averted a disaster when a leak of liquefied petroleum gas was discovered and sealed. The gas was leaking from a tank car in a stationary train at the Aliabada station. Fire and other emergency crews rushed to the scene as a precaution, and the leak was controlled without incident. The car was loaded at the Reliance refinery; officials have begun an inquiry into how the car was loaded and to find out what can be done to prevent such an incident from recurring. (newindpress.com)

August 21

– The Bulgarian State Railway Company (BDZ) files the paperwork needed for a road hauling permit. The permit will allow the company to operate buses in lieu of trains to make the passenger connections around areas of the railroad system that have been washed out by flooding; the washouts are not due to be repaired before 2006. BDZ will operate the buses as part of its normal operations and not as a subsidiary company. (Dnevnik)

August 22

– The Lower House of the Czech Republic approves a bill that would enable České dráhy, the national rail operator, to take out a k1.4 billion loan to purchase new rolling stock. The railroad had already taken out loans worth €45 million in 2004 and €15 million in 2003. (Prague Daily Monitor)

– Russian and North Korean railway officials open a meeting in Rajin, North Korea, to discuss the state of rail operations and interchange between the two nations' systems. The joint Russia-North Korea Railway Commission is expected to discuss the transfer of freight between the two systems as well as streamlining passenger operations between Khasan, Russia, and Tumangan, North Korea. So far in 2005, passenger traffic along this route has increased by nearly 20% while freight traffic has increased by 7% over 2004 figures. (RIA Novosti)

– India's Parliament passes the Railway Bill that will allow Indian Railways to commercially develop land adjoining the railroad's right-of-way. Lalu Prasad, India's Railway Minister announced that the land would be used to provide better amenities to passengers and that it would generate an estimated Rs. 10,000 by year's end. Parcels of land that are not adjacent to stations will be used for beautification projects, such as the planting of jatropa trees along the railroad. (rediff)

– The Japan External Trade Organization announces that it will fund a feasibility study on a new elevated commuter railway in Hanoi, Vietnam. The agreement means that the Vietnamese project leaders will be able to request further funding from the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation to be used for the line's construction. The proposed railway would connect Yen Vien to Ngoc Hoi, a distance of 25 km (16 mi) and is estimated to cost nearly US$1.2 billion when it is completed. If everything goes well, construction could begin in early 2006. (Bernama)

– BNSF Railway begins a week-long appreciation of truckers and the services they provide to the railroad by hosting "BNSF Really Digs Your Rig" events at BNSF's intermodal terminals in Chicago, Oakland, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, and Seattle. Drivers who visit these facilities are treated to lunch and refreshments provided by the railroad and its partners. Other BNSF facilities across the system are displaying banners "expressing BNSF's appreciation of the nation's truck drivers." BNSF's efforts are in conjunction with other national Truck Driver Appreciation Week efforts. (PR Newswire)

– The external auditors report requested by Swiss Federal Railways after a power outage shut down the system on June 22 is released. The report states that the incident which left about 200,000 passengers stranded temporarily was caused by "an unfortunate chain reaction caused by separate incidents." The root of the problem was identified as an incorrect information about the capacity of a central power line in Switzerland; this led to an incorrect risk assessment by railway engineers. (SwissInfo)

August 24

– Chinese railroad workers laid rails on the Tanggula Mountain Pass in Tibet at 5,072 m (16,640 ft) above sea level, surpassing the altitude of the highest Peruvian railway by 255 m (837 ft). This section of the Qingzang Railway is now the highest railway in the world. The railway also includes the highest railway station in the world at Lhasa, 5,068 m (16,627 ft) above sea level.(Xinhua) It opened to regular trial service on July 1, 2006.

– Tokyo gained its newest passenger rail line as the Tsukuba Express entered service. The line connects Akihabara Station in Japan's capital with the "science city" of Tsukuba in Ibaraki Prefecture. The new connection will provide commuters with a 45-minute ride for ¥1,150 (US$10.40), compared to a 65-minute bus ride for ¥1,250 or a 73-minute ride on JR East's Jōban Line for ¥1,550. During peak hours, between 12 and 16 trains will operate over the line each hour. (Japan Times) (Science Daily) (Mainichi Daily News)

August 25

– New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority solicits bids to enable cellular phone usage on the city's subway system. The 10-year exclusive contract to provide cellular coverage in 277 of the system's almost 500 stations is estimated to value between US$50 million and $100 million, and would include two 5-year renewal options. The contract includes a clause requiring the winning bidder to carry calls of rival companies so that passengers' phones would work regardless of which provider a subscriber uses. Similar systems are already in use on the London Underground, in England, and MTR, in Hong Kong. (NY Times)

August 27

– A slow order is imposed on the Naples-Rome line of Trenitalia when an unexploded World War II American bomb is discovered in excavations at a house site near the railroad line. The bomb's outer shell was scraped by the excavating equipment. Officials hope to move the bomb to a safe location and explode it on September 1 at 8:30 AM local time; if moving it is not possible, then bomb experts will empty the bomb and explode the remainder on site. Until the threat of uncontrolled explosion is contained, all trains in the area are restricted to 40 km/h (25 mph) for approximately 500 metres (0.3 miles). (AGI)

– A bomb explodes under the locomotive of a passenger train at Rostov-on-Don on the line from Sulak to Kurush. Officials with the North Caucasus Railway report that the explosion derailed the locomotive and two passenger cars and created a 50 cm (19.7 in) deep, 1.5-metre (4.9 ft) diameter crater. About 60 m of track was damaged in the explosion and derailment. Railway officials added that the passenger train in the dreailment was preceded by an armored train whose responsibility was to detect and neutralize such explosive devices. The railway was able to resume limited service through the affected area at 5:30 AM local time on Sunday. (Interfax)

– The Cass Scenic Railroad State Park celebrates the 100th "birthday" of the railroad's Shay locomotive number 5, the oldest operable Shay in the world. Originally built for the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company, the locomotive has spent its entire working life in the Cass, West Virginia, area. (Herald-Dispatch)

– Kazakhstan Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov places the first stone in the construction of a new Ust Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan, to Charsk, Russia, railroad. The new rail connection is expected to reduce travel times and expenses for both passengers and freight between the two regions. (Kazinform)

– The first section of the Asker Line, from Asker to Sandvika, is opened. This allows for more and faster trains to operate west of Oslo. The rest of the line is scheduled to open in 2011.

August 28

– The first 34 families out of a total of 1,150 families and 51 corporations are moved to new homes in Shanghai to make way for the construction of a new multi-level train, bus and metro station. The Chinese government is working with the families and businesses affected to help them find new locations. This and four other renovation projects in the city will displace about 8,300 families and 300 businesses on six sites that cover 259,000 square metres of land. (english.eastday.com)

– Canadian National Railway (CN) suspends all rail traffic on its lines south of McComb, Mississippi (lines formerly owned by Illinois Central Railroad that extend into New Orleans, Louisiana), in anticipation of damaging wind and flooding from Hurricane Katrina. To help ease the resumption of services after the storm passes, CN also issues an embargo with the Association of American Railroads against all deliveries to points south of Osyka, Mississippi. (CN)

August 29

– Saudi Arabia's Prince Abdul Aziz announces the start of construction of a new railway to connect Dammam, Riyadh and Jeddah, as part of a larger strategy to connect the Arabian Sea to the Red Sea. The project is led by Al Shu'la group and an international coalition of engineers. (BNA)

– Indian Railways Catering And Tourism Development Corporation (IRCTC) and ICICI Bank, the second-largest bank in India, jointly inaugurate a new Railway Ticket Booking via SMS service. The service will allow cellular phone users to place and pay for Indian Railways reservations using their phones' text messaging capabilities. To use the service, a customer will send a message to the service requesting booking. The service will reply to the customer with a price quote which, when confirmed by the customer, will debit the cost from the customer's ICICI Bank account. (India Infoline)

– Amtrak announces that because of Hurricane Katrina, the southbound City of New Orleans passenger trains from Chicago, Illinois, on August 29 and 30 will terminate in Memphis, Tennessee, rather than their usual destination of New Orleans, Louisiana; the corresponding northbound trains will also originate in Memphis. The southbound Crescent from New York, for the same period will terminate in Atlanta, Georgia, with the corresponding northbound trains originating in Atlanta as well. Amtrak's westbound Sunset Limited will originate in San Antonio, Texas, rather than its normal origin point of Orlando, Florida. Amtrak announced that no alternate transportation options will be made available into or out of the affected area during this time. (Amtrak)

August 30

– For a seventh time, automaker American Honda Motor Company has awarded its Premier Partner Award to BNSF Railway for outstanding service in railway transportation. Honda established the award in 1998 to recognize vendors that provide exceptional customer service; railway transportation is one category out of many for this award. (Finanzen.net)

– At a groundbreaking ceremony for a new highway through Mount Roskill, New Zealand, Prime Minister Helen Clark and Transport Minister Pete Hodgson announce government plans to pay for significant expansion of the western railway line. About $200 million will be provided to double track the line and to build a new branch line connecting Manukau, a suburb of Auckland, with the main line at Wiri. An additional $150 million to $200 million would be made available for new railway signal systems. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2008. (NZ Herald)

August 31

– Engine drivers across Sri Lanka go on strike protesting what has been termed as "salary anomalies". To counter the strike, the government of Sri Lanka used emergency regulations to revoke the drivers' leave. In addition, the railway has asked retired workers to report for duty to take the place of those on strike. About 16 trains ran on limited schedules with these workers. (ColomboPage)

– Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) files a motion to dismiss all claims from a derailment that occurred on January 18, 2002. In 2004 the United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a report that blamed the accident, which released a cloud of anhydrous ammonia over Minot, North Dakota, on poor trackwork and inspections, a claim which CP is disputing. Soon after the report was released, several suits were filed against CP, and the cases have been granted class action status. In its filing today, CP cites a recent decision in a similar case involving a BNSF Railway derailment and chemical spill that occurred in 2000; in that case, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that BNSF's violation of certain federal regulations "is generally not recognized as negligence" under law. The first suit against CP is currently scheduled to be heard on October 10 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Duluth News Tribune)

– BNSF Railway announces that it expects to restore limited freight service to southern Louisiana by the end of the day on September 1. Other than debris on the mainline, the biggest problem facing crews working to reopen the line is the damage to the Bayou Boeuf bridge in Morgan City; the bridge and bridge piers were struck by a barge propelled by the storm's winds and wave action. BNSF sent crews to repair damaged railway signal systems starting on August 30. Until the southern connections are rebuilt and restored to service, BNSF is transferring freight through other hubs such as St. Louis, Missouri, Chicago, Illinois, and Memphis, Tennessee. (BNSF)

– Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) announces that the majority of the company's mainlines that were damaged by Hurricane Katrina are again operational. NS removed almost 3,700 fallen trees and inspected over 1,400 miles (2,300 km) of track before setting trains in motion. Track directly into New Orleans, however, is still out of service because of washouts and continued flooding and the city's emergency evacuation orders. Freight that normally would have transferred in New Orleans is being handled by other terminals across the NS system. NS's experience with previous hurricanes helped it to prepare action plans before Katrina made landfall; NS moved repair equipment, supplies and employees into nearby areas and quickly deployed them to inspect and repair the system after the storm passed. (NS)