October 2008 in rail transport

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This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in October 2008.

Events

October 1
  • United States – The United States Federal Railroad Administration issues an emergency order banning the use of cell phones and other electronic devices by railroad employees while operating trains. The order comes in the wake of the September 12 Metrolink collision in which cell phone use is believed to have distracted the engineer from obeying a stop signal. While many U.S. railroad companies already had rules prohibiting such cell phone usage, the new order applies to all railroads that operate in the U.S.[1][2]
October 2
October 3
  • United Kingdom – Sir Ian McAllister announces that he will not stand for reelection to continue as chairman of Network Rail, the company that maintains the rail transport infrastructure in Britain. He has held this position for six years. In making the announcement, Sir Ian noted that as Network Rail moves to a "new phase in its development," it is appropriate that there be a new chairman to lead it there.[4]
October 6
  • Vietnam – Transportation officials in Vietnam announce plans to build two new urban railway systems. About half of the $15 billion allocated for the projects will fund new tramways in Hanoi, while the rest will fund a new subway in Ho Chi Minh City. Officials expect to open the new systems by 2020.[5]
October 7
  • China – Construction work of the Jingshi Passenger Railway begins in China. The 281 km (175 mi) long railway will connect Beijing and Shijiazhuang, with a design speed of 350 km/h (220 mph), and is expected to be open in 2012. This railway will be part of the future longer railway line between Beijing and Guangzhou.[9]
  • North Korea – Railway construction workers in Rason, North Korea, hold a ceremony laying the first rails at Duman River railway station to mark the beginning of construction of the line between Rason and Khasan, Russia. The 54-kilometre (34 mi) long line will reconnect the two nations by rail; the project is expected to cost $195 million, of which, $72 million will be paid by Russia.[10] The line is 1,520 mm (4 ft 11 27⁄32 in).
October 9
  • Kenya Uganda – Toll Holdings of Australia announces that it has entered into a contract to manage the Kenya-Uganda railway, replacing the management by Rift Valley Railways Consortium (RVR). The consortium has been criticized for falling freight traffic in the two years since taking control, while RVR alleges the drop is due to the poor condition of the railway infrastructure and the damage done by protesters during the 2007–2008 Kenyan crisis. Officers from Toll subsidiary Patrick Defence Logistics will manage the railway after the transition.[11]
October 11
October 13
  • China – Construction work of the Guiguang Railway begins in China. The 857 km (533 mi) long railway will connect Guizhou and Guangzhou, with a design speed of 200 km/h (120 mph), and is expected to be completed in 6 years. The project will cost CN¥85.8 billion. Thirty railway stations will be built along the line.[13]
October 15
  • China – Construction work of the Shiwu Passenger Railway begins in China. The 841 km (523 mi) long railway will connect Shijiazhuang and Wuhan, with a design speed of 350 km/h (220 mph), and is expected to be completed in 4 years. This railway is estimated to cost 117 billion yuan and will be part of the future longer railway line between Beijing and Guangzhou.[14]
October 16
  • India – Karnataka's Chief Minister B. S. Yeddyurappa notifies India's Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav of the state's willingness to offer land and infrastructure to build a railway coach factory in the state. The communication comes after the state of Uttar Pradesh dropped similar plans to build the factory in Rai Bareilly.[15]
  • Germany – A spokesperson for Germany's Finance Ministry announces that the planned initial public offering of stock in Deutsche Bahn (DB) has been postponed indefinitely due to the current troubles in worldwide financial markets. The German government had planned that the IPO, projected to be the largest European IPO in 2008, would be held on October 27. DB's CEO Hartmut Mehdorn and CFO Diethelm Sack will travel to various locations in Asia and the Middle East speaking to potential investors about the delay.[16]
October 20
October 22
  • Japan – JR Central issues a report showing that three routes for the proposed Chuo Shinkansen line between Tokyo and Nagoya are feasible. All of the three proposed routes include the current test line east of Kofu. West of Kofu, JR Central's preferred route continues straight through the mountains while two alternate routes swing north around the mountains through other cities in Nagano Prefecture and rejoin the main route east of Nakatsugawa. JR Central hopes to have the line open by 2025.[18]
  • Japan India – Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meet to sign an agreement of a ¥450 billion loan to build a new freight railway line between New Delhi and Mumbai. The loan is the largest of all foreign infrastructure development projects financed by Japan. The project includes not only construction of the 1,468 km (912 mi) line, but also enhance development of various economic sectors along the line.[19][20]
October 24
  • Germany – Deutsche Bahn (DB) temporarily removes all ICE-T trains from service after a crack is found in an axle of one of the company's fleet of trains. All of the trains will be inspected for similar cracks and repaired as necessary before DB returns them to service. DB made the decision to sideline the trains after consultation with Siemens, Bombardier, and Alstom, the trains' manufacturers, revealed only "unclear information" about the expected life span of the axles.[21]
  • India – Government representatives in India announce that the majority of 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) metre gauge lines in the country will be converted to broad gauge within the next 4-5 years. The work, which also includes ten new construction projects connecting seven states, is part of Project Unigauge. About one sixth of the total railway lines in India are metre gauge.[22]
October 27
  • China – Officials with the Chinese Railway Ministry announce the approval of a 2 trillion yuan spending budget for new construction and improvements to the nation's railway system. Projects already being planned will expand the system from its current 78,000 kilometres (48,000 mi) to 120,000 kilometres (75,000 mi) by 2020. The Railway Ministry hopes that the construction and new lines will help promote economic growth and ease congestion as well as help to unite remote regions of the country.[23]
October 30
late October (approx.)

References

  1. ↑ Boardman, Joseph H., Administrator (October 1, 2008). "FRA Emergency Order No. 26: Emergency Order to Restrict On-Duty Railroad Operating Employees' Use of Cellular Telephones and Other Distracting Electronic and Electrical Devices" (PDF). United States Federal Railroad Administration. Retrieved October 7, 2008.
  2. ↑ Wald, Matthew L. (October 2, 2008). "Railroad Agency Bans Cellphones". New York Times. Retrieved October 7, 2008.
  3. ↑ Saxena, R.P. (2008). "Indian Railway History Time Line". Retrieved 2009-12-21.
  4. ↑ "Network Rail boss stepping down". BBC News. October 3, 2008. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
  5. ↑ Associated Press (October 6, 2008). "Vietnam plans to build 2 new railway systems". Retrieved October 9, 2008.
  6. ↑ "Hungary: 4 dead, 26 hurt in train crash". CNN. October 6, 2008. Archived from the original on October 9, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
  7. ↑ "Hungary: Monorierdő rail crash". Railway Market. October 7, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
  8. ↑ Xinhua (October 6, 2008). "Hungarian transport minister, railway chief resign". Retrieved October 10, 2008.
  9. ↑ "Beijing-Shijiazhuang railway under construction". Xinhua. October 7, 2008. Retrieved October 7, 2008.
  10. ↑ "North Korea-Russia Railway Reconnection". Dong-A Ilbo. October 7, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
  11. ↑ Speedy, Blair (October 10, 2008). "Toll to manage Kenya-Uganda railway". The Australian. Retrieved October 11, 2008.
  12. ↑ "DR. MANMOHAN SINGH FLAGS OFF FIRST TRAIN SERVICE". Press Release, Northern Railway, dated 2008-10-11. Archived from the original on October 15, 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
  13. ↑ Xinhua (October 13, 2008). "China starts building railway linking SW inland to south port city". Retrieved October 15, 2008.
  14. ↑ Xinhua (October 15, 2008). "Construction starts on portion of Beijing-Hong Kong rail line". Retrieved October 15, 2008.
  15. ↑ PTI (October 16, 2008). "Karnataka offers land to set up Railway Coach Factory". Retrieved October 25, 2008.
  16. ↑ Cremer, Andreas (October 16, 2008). "German Railway IPO `Not in Foreseeable Future,' Ministry Says". Bloomberg. Retrieved October 25, 2008.
  17. ↑ "FRA seeks grant applications for maglev projects". ProgressiveRailroading.com. October 20, 2008. Retrieved November 15, 2008.
  18. ↑ "LDP OKs maglev line selections". October 22, 2008. Retrieved October 25, 2008.
  19. ↑ Takashi Hirokawa & Hiroshi Suzuki (October 22, 2008). "Aso, Singh Sign Deal for 450 Billion Yen Railway Loan to India". Bloomberg. Retrieved November 15, 2008.
  20. ↑ AFP (October 22, 2008). "Boosting ties, Japan offers India record loan for railway". Retrieved November 15, 2008.
  21. ↑ Associated Press (October 24, 2008). "German railway takes tilting trains out of service". BusinessWeek. Retrieved November 15, 2008.
  22. ↑ "Meter-gauge railway lines to be phased out in 4-5 years". The Times of India. October 24, 2008. Retrieved November 15, 2008.
  23. ↑ Associated Press (October 27, 2008). "China OKs $292B railway plan". CNN.com. Retrieved November 16, 2008.
  24. ↑ "Canadian Pacific assumes operational control of DM&E Railroad" (Press release). Canadian Pacific. October 30, 2008. Retrieved November 16, 2008.
  25. ↑ "Extra railway line hopes dashed". BBC News. October 30, 2008. Retrieved November 16, 2008.
  26. ↑ "Steam in Serbia – It's all over now!". FarRail Tours. Retrieved 2010-01-28.
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