2008 in rail transport
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This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in 2008.
By month
January events
January 16 – The Tozai Line in Kyoto is extended 2.4 km (1.5 mi) from Nijo to Uzumasa-Tenjingawa.[1]
February events
- February 27
– Official opening of Santo Domingo Metro.
– National Express changes the name of the railway operating company one to National Express East Anglia as part of a company-wide rebranding exercise.[2][3]
March events
- March 9
– The Red line in Kaohsiung opens for service.[4][5]
– Sprinter starts service between Oceanside and Escondido, California,[6] reinstating passenger service on the Escondido branch line.
- March 15 – The Osaka Higashi Line is scheduled to open in Osaka, Japan;[7] the opening was originally scheduled for 2006, but delayed due to problems acquiring land.
- March 27 – Heathrow Terminal 5 station opens in London.
- March 30 – Yokohama Municipal Subway's Green Line is opened for regular operations.[8]
– Kolkata Metro is extended from Tollygunge station to Pranabnagar station.[citation needed]
April events
- April 1 – The Miki Railway Miki Line in Japan, which connected Yakujin Station in Kakogawa and Miki Station in Miki, is closed.[9]
- April 26 – FrontRunner, a new commuter rail service, begins running in Utah.
- April 28 – Wrexham & Shropshire begin to run passenger services between London Marylebone station, the West Midlands, Shropshire and north-east Wales.[10][11][12]
June events
- June 2 – An unexploded bomb from World War II is found near where the District and Hammersmith & City lines cross the Prescott Channel, not far from Bromley-by-Bow tube station, causing disruption to trains.[13]
- June 2–6 – AfricaRail 2008 Conference.[14]
- June 14 – Opening of the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Subway Line between Shibuya and Ikebukuro (8.9 km (5.5 mi)).[15]
July events
July 5 – Meeting between Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador regarding a proposed rail link for freight and passengers between the three countries, also connecting the Pacific with the Atlantic.
August events
- August 1
– China officially opens the Beijing–Tianjin intercity railway line, the first in the world regularly to host trains traveling up to 350 km/h (220 mph).[16][17][18]- – LNER-design Peppercorn Class A1 60163 Tornado makes first official move under its own steam, the first main line steam locomotive built in Britain since 1960.[19]
September events
- September 14 – The Orange line in Kaohsiung opens for service.[4]
October events
October 9 – The Green Line of the Baku Metro is extended from Memar Ajami to Nasimi.- October 19 – The Nakanoshima Line operated by Keihan Railway opens for service between Nakanoshima and Temmabashi in Osaka, Japan.[20]
November events
- November – Voter approval of Measure M in Los Angeles County, California, commits additional tax dollars to transit projects.
December events
- December 14 – Final run of the original 0 series Shinkansen.[21]
- December 27
- – The first section of the new Valley Metro Rail system, part of Valley Metro in Phoenix, Arizona, opened.[22][23][24]
- – The Monkey Park Monorail Line in Nagoya is abolished.[25]
By season
Summer events
- – The project to rebuild and upgrade Guiyang Southern Station to more than double its capacity is expected to be completed.[26]
Unknown date events
- – Indian Railways expects to complete the conversion of its electrified section in Mumbai from a 1,500 volt DC system to 25,000 volts AC; this will make the Mumbai section's electrification consistent with the rest of Indian Railways' network.
– Vietnam expects to complete construction on the Hanoi–Lào Cai railway line upgrade.[27]
– The city of Saint Petersburg, Russia, will begin construction of a new intercity light railway beginning with a 26.5 km (16.5 mi) section between Baltiyskaya Zhemchuzhina and the Obukhovo[ambiguous] metro station.[28]
Accidents
- April 28 – 2008 Shandong train collision: Sixty-six people are killed and almost 250 injured when a passenger train from Beijing careers off the rails and slams into another train in eastern China. The rail accident, the worst in China in more than a decade, happens near the city of Zibo in Shandong province.
August 8 – 2008 Studénka train wreck: A EuroCity train en route to Prague strikes a part of a motorway bridge that has fallen onto the track near Studénka station and derails, killing 8 people and injuring 64 others.- September 12 – 2008 Chatsworth train collision: A Metrolink commuter train, having passed a signal at danger, collides head-on into a Union Pacific freight train in Los Angeles, killing 25 and injuring 130.[29]
