1971 in rail transport

Events

February events

* February 9 - A Zurich-bound TEE train derails at Aitrang, Germany, due to excess speed and is hit by a railbus. 28 die and 42 are injured.

March events

* March 4 - A local train collides with a mini truck at a level crossing on the Fujikyu line, Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi, Japan, killing at least 17 people and injuring 69.

April events

* April 30 - On the eve of Amtrak's assumption of American passenger train operations, Union Pacific Railroad and Chicago and North Western Railway end the "City of Los Angeles" and "City of Denver" trains, and the United States Post Office Department cancels all but one of the eight remaining Railway Mail Service routes; the final route served Washington, D.C., to New York City. [cite web| url=http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blmailus2c.htm|title=The Post Office Role in U.S. Development: Railway Mail Service|work=History of the United States Post Office| accessdate=2006-04-26]

May events

* May 1 - Amtrak begins operations of most intercity passenger train service in the United States.
* May 27 - Dahlerau train disaster: A special train full of schoolchildren collides with a freight train in Dahlerau, West Germany, on the line between Wuppertal and Radevormwald due to a misunderstanding of signals. 46 die and 25 are injured, making this the worst rail accident in West Germany during Deutsche Bundesbahn times.

July events

* July 21 - A fast train from Basel to Copenhagen derails due to a technical failure in the Class 103 engine; 23 die and 121 are injured.
* July 31 - The Monon Railroad is merged into the Louisville and Nashville Railroad.

eptember events

* September 10 - British Columbia Premier W.A.C. Bennett leads the ceremony to open the Pacific Great Eastern Railway's Fort Nelson Subdivision between Fort St. John and Fort Nelson, British Columbia.

October events

* October 2 - Preserved ex-Great Western Railway steam locomotive No. 6000 "King George V" inaugurates a series of special trains on British Rail, the first steam allowed on the main line for several years. [cite book|author=Wood, G. C.|title=6000 King George V – a chronology|publisher=6000 Locomotive Association|location=Hereford|year=1972]

November events

* November - Construction begins on the Tōhoku Shinkansen line in Japan.

December events

* December 6 - The first Auto Train operates under the control of the Auto-Train Corporation.

Births

Deaths

Unknown date deaths

* W. Graham Claytor, president of Southern Railway (b. 1886).

References