- 1998 in rail transport
Events
February events
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February 14 - A freight train passing throughYaounde ,Cameroon , collides with another freight; sometank car s carrying fuel oil are ruptured in the derailment. The oil is ignited by a lit cigarette causing aflash fire and an explosion when the flames reach the tank cars, killing 120 people. See:Yaounde train explosion .
*February 20 - TheDakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad files an application with theSurface Transportation Board to build new railroad track to haulcoal from thePowder River Basin inWyoming .April events
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April 1 - British trainload freight operatorEWS takes over rail operations ofNational Power .
*April 27 -Spain 'sMadrid Metro opens the section between Esperanza and Mar de Cristal on Line 4.June events
*
June 3 - TheEschede train disaster , the worst railroad accident in German history, occurs when a wheel on the high speedInterCityExpress breaks; the derailed train's forward momentum caused it to slam into a bridge pier which increased the damage to the train and caused a higher injury toll than would otherwise have occurred.
*June 6 - The majority ofConrail 's railroad assets are split betweenCSX Transportation andNorfolk Southern .
*June 19 - The government ofPanama relinquishes control of thePanama Railway to the Panama Canal Railway Company, a subsidiary ofKansas City Southern .
*June 23 - Road-rail (dual gauge) Jamunabridge opened, connecting the previously isolated east and west networks ofBangladesh Railway . [cite journal|author=Choudhury, Iqbaluddin|coauthors=Rahman, Mostafizur|title=Jamuna bridge and dual-gauging unite the BR network|journal=Railway Gazette International |url=http://www.railwaygazette.com/news_view/article/2002/06/3509/jamuna_bridge_and_dual_gauging_unite_the_br_network.html | volume=158|date=2002|pages=326–7]eptember events
* September - Construction begins to convert the
Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel inAlaska from rail traffic only to combined rail and highway traffic.October events
*
October 8 -Norway s firsthigh-speed railway ,Gardermobanen between Oslo S viaOslo Airport, Gardermoen to Eidsvoll, opens.
*October 18 - TheAltamont Commuter Express begins regional commuter rail service between Stockton in California's Central Valley and San Jose in theSan Francisco Bay Area .November events
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November 9 - TheSt. Thomas and Eastern Railway begins operations on a formerCanadian National Railway branch line between St. Thomas andDelhi, Ontario .
*November 20 - TheOkanagan Valley Railway begins operations on the formerCanadian Pacific Railway branch between Sicamous and Kelowna,British Columbia .December events
* December - Railways in Germany are attacked by the extortionist
Klaus-Peter Sabotta . AnInterCity Express line is sabotaged (but the train does not derail), while a freight train is derailed nearAnklam .
*December 5 -Trinity Railway Express inTexas adds Saturday train schedules to its timetables and begins operating the first regular Saturday trains.Trinity Railway Express, " [http://www.trinityrailwayexpress.org/traininfo.html Trinity Railway Express Facts] ". RetrievedDecember 5 2005 .]
*December 10 - TheSurface Transportation Board gives preliminary approval toDakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad 's application to build into thePowder River Basin , pending completion of an Environmental Impact Statement.Unknown date events
*
Canadian National Railway acquires theIllinois Central , giving the CN direct access to theGulf of Mexico port ofNew Orleans, Louisiana .
* The formerLima Locomotive Works erecting shed and heavyShay locomotive shops are razed.Deaths
September deaths
*
September 9 -James B. McCahey, Jr. , president ofChicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad (b. 1920).The Political Graveyard (March 10 2005 ), " [http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/IL/railroad.html Politicians in Railroading in Illinois] ". RetrievedDecember 30 2005 .]Awards
North America
;1998
E. H. Harriman Award s;Awards presented by
Railway Age magazine
* 1998Railroader of the Year :David R. Goode (NS)
* 1998Regional Railroad of the Year :Texas Mexican Railway
* 1998Short Line Railroad of the Year :St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad References
* Colin Churcher's Railway Pages (
August 16 2005 ), " [http://www.railways.incanada.net/candate/candate.htm Significant dates in Canadian railway history] ". RetrievedNovember 8 andNovember 20 2005 .
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