August 2007 in rail transport

Events

August 1 - August 4

August 5 - August 11

;August 6:* flagicon|United States – Officials with Metrorail in Washington, D.C., release ridership figures for the month of July 2007 that show an all-time record ridership of 19,281,809 passengers for the month, which equates to an average of 768,831 trips aboard the system per day. The busiest day occurred on July 18, when 803,164 trips aboard Metrorail trains were completed. The previous record month was June 2007 when 19,085,358 Metrorail trips were completed. [cite press release| url=http://www.wmata.com/about/met_news/PressReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=1742| publisher=Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority| title=Metrorail breaks the all-time ridership record by carrying 19.2 million people in July| date=2007-08-06| accessdate=2007-08-07| ] ;August 9:* flagicon|USA – Walter Rich, Chairman of Delaware Otsego Corporation, New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad and Central New York Railroad, dies after a prolonged battle against pancreatic cancer (b. 1946). [cite news| url=http://www.thedailystar.com/news/stories/2007/08/10/tgrichobit2.html| title=Railroad chairman Rich dies| publisher=The Daily Star| author=Grace, Tom| date=2007-08-10| accessdate=2007-08-10| ]

August 12 - August 18

;August 13:* flagicon|India – The government of Himachal Pradesh, India, declares the Kalka-Shimla Railway, which opened in 1903, a heritage property in preparation for its review in September. For about a week starting on September 11 2007, an expert team from UNESCO will visit the railway to review and inspect the railway for possible selection as a World Heritage Site. After the team submits its report, the status of the railway's selection would likely be made in July 2008. If the selection is made, the railway would become the fourth rail property in India to be selected. [cite news| url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/storypage/storypage.aspx?id=20779f05-acd4-4b94-b611-98119921f6b8&MatchID1=4502&TeamID1=2&TeamID2=6&MatchType1=1&SeriesID1=1122&PrimaryID=4502&Headline=Toy+train+set+to+enter+UNESCO+heritage+list| title=Toy train set to enter UNESCO heritage list| publisher=Hindustan Times| author=Press Trust of India| date=2007-08-08| accessdate=2007-08-09| ] [cite news| url=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/004200708130322.htm| title=HP declares Kalka-Shimla railway as 'heritage' property| date=2007-08-13| publisher=The Hindu| accessdate=2007-08-13| ] ;August 15:* flagicon|Hong Kong – Henry Tang, the Chief Secretary for Administration of Hong Kong, presides over the opening ceremonies for the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line. The new convert|7.4|km|abbr=on line is the second rail link between Hong Kong and Shenzhen city in China; it was planned and built to help relieve congestion on other mainland connections. [cite news| url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2007-08/16/content_6029931.htm| title=Second HK-Shenzhen railway line opens to traffic| publisher=China Daily| date=2007-08-16| accessdate=2007-08-16| ]

August 19 - August 25

;August 19:* flagicon|USA – A federal judge in Minnesota, United States, issues a decision in favor of the plaintiff in a suit brought by the United Transportation Union (UTU) against Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific Railway (DWP, a subsidiary of Canadian National Railway) over train speeds through the town of Orr, Minnesota. In the decision, U.S. District Court Judge Michael Davis ruled that states, cities and towns have the power to dictate the maximum train speeds over level crossings within their jurisdictions. In this suit, the UTU cited public safety concerns in arguing that DWP's maximum speed of convert|60|mph|abbr=on through Orr should be reduced to convert|30|mph|abbr=on. Following the decision, CN filed its appeal to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis. [cite news| url=http://www.workdayminnesota.org/index.php?news_6_3234| publisher=WorkDay Minnesota| title=Judge's ruling could improve railroad safety| date=2007-08-19| accessdate=2007-08-20| author=Press Associates, Inc.| ] ;August 23:* flagicon|China – Construction begins in China on a new line that will host only passenger train traffic between Harbin, Dalian, Changchun and Shenyang. The new line will have a total of 23 stations and is being built to help relieve congestion on the Harbin-Dalian railway which also sees freight traffic. Once the new line opens, which is currently scheduled for 2013, passenger traffic will be shifted off the existing Harbin-Dalian line so it can be used for freight more efficiently. The project is estimated to cost 92.3 billion yuan ($12 billion). [cite news| url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2007-08/24/content_6039858.htm| title=Work begins on Harbin-Dalian railway line| publisher=China Daily| date=2007-08-24| accessdate=2007-08-24| ]

August 26 - August 31

;August 31:* flagicon|India – Transportation officials in India announce the promotion of Shri K. C. Jena to the position of Chairman of the Railway Board which oversees Indian Railways. Jena began his railway career in 1971 with Indian Railways' Traffic Service; he worked his way up through various promotions where he worked to improve India's passenger train service to eventually become a member of the Railway Board on July 31 2006. In 2007, Jena named the recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi Sadhbhawana Award. [cite press release| url=http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=30790| publisher=Government of India Press Information Bureau| date=2007-08-31| title=K C Jena takes over as Chairman, Railway Board| accessdate=2007-08-31| ]

Unknown date events

* - Construction is expected to start on Santiago light rail.

References