1983 in rail transport
Encyclopedia
January events
- January 1 - China Railway opens ZhichengZhichengZhicheng is a Chinese city in the province of Hubei. As of 2005, it had a population of 159,000....
–LiuzhouLiuzhou-History:thumb|Liuchow in 1945.Liuzhou has a history of more than 2,100 years. The city was founded in 111 B.C. when it was known as Tanzhong....
railway, 885 km (549.9 mi) in length with 396 tunnels totalling 172 km (106.9 mi) and 476 bridges totalling 52 km (32.3 mi). - January 2 - The first section of the Caracas MetroCaracas MetroThe Caracas Metro is a mass rapid transit system serving Caracas, Venezuela. It is constructed and operated by Compañía Anónima Metro de Caracas, a government-owned company that was founded in 1977 by José González-Lander who headed the project for more than thirty years since the early planning...
is opened, first rapid transitRapid transitA rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
system in VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
.
February events
- February 27 - The first phase of the O'Hare rapid transit extensionBlue Line (Chicago Transit Authority)The Blue Line consists of a long trunk line in the Chicago Transit Authority's rapid transit system which extends through Chicago's Loop from O'Hare International Airport at the far northwest end of the city, through downtown via the Milwaukee-Dearborn subway, and across the West Side to its...
of the Chicago 'L'Chicago 'L'The L is the rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago and some of its surrounding suburbs. It is operated by the Chicago Transit Authority...
system is placed into operation from Jefferson ParkJefferson Park (Metra-CTA)The Jefferson Park Transit Center is an intermodal passenger transport center, in the Jefferson Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. It functions as a station for rail as well as rapid transit and also as a bus terminal. Jefferson Park Transit Center's railroad station is on Metra's Union...
to RosemontRosemont (CTA)Rosemont is the 'L' station at the intersection of River Road and I-190. It is located in the median of I-190 with one island platform serving two tracks, 16 miles northwest of the Chicago Loop. Trains are scheduled to depart from Rosemont roughly every 2–7 minutes during rush-hour periods, and...
via the Kennedy ExpresswayKennedy ExpresswayThe John F. Kennedy Expressway is a long highway that travels northwest from the Chicago Loop to O'Hare International Airport. The expressway is named for the 35th U.S. President, John F. Kennedy. The Interstate 90 portion of the Kennedy is a part of the much longer I-90...
median.
April events
- April 25
- Denver and Rio Grande Western RailroadDenver and Rio Grande Western RailroadThe Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to Rio Grande or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, is a defunct U.S. railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow gauge line running south from Denver, Colorado in 1870; however, served mainly as a transcontinental...
discontinues independent intercity passenger train service with the final run of the Rio Grande ZephyrRio Grande ZephyrThe Rio Grande Zephyr was a passenger train operated by Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad between Denver, Colorado and Ogden, Utah in the Western United States. It operated from 1970 until 1983...
. - Lille MetroLille MetroThe Lille metro is a driverless metro in and around Lille, France. The system was inaugurated on 25 April 1983 and was the first to use VAL system....
(FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
) opens, with driverless trains.
- Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad
May events
- May 6 - The last Georgia Railroad mixed trainMixed trainA mixed train is a train that hauls both passenger and freight cars or wagons. In the early days of railways they were quite common, but by the 20th century they were largely confined to branch lines with little traffic. As the trains provided passengers with very slow service, mixed trains have...
is operated by the Seaboard System RailroadSeaboard System RailroadThe Seaboard System Railroad was a former Class I railroad created by merging the railroads of the Family Lines System. Although sharing common ownership, the railroads of the Family Lines System used different names when conducting business...
.
June events
- June 20 - The Chicago and North Western RailwayChicago and North Western RailwayThe Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was a Class I railroad in the Midwest United States. It was also known as the North Western. The railroad operated more than of track as of the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s...
wins a bidding war against the Soo LineSoo LineSoo Line may refer to:*Soo Line Railroad, Canadian Pacific Railway subsidiary**Soo Line Corporation, parent of the above*Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad, major railroad west of Minneapolis-St. Paul; merged into the above in 1961...
for control of the former Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad "Spine Line"; the Interstate Commerce CommissionInterstate Commerce CommissionThe Interstate Commerce Commission was a regulatory body in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads to ensure fair rates, to eliminate rate discrimination, and to regulate other aspects of common carriers, including...
awarded the line to CNW's $United States dollarThe United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
93 million bid.
July events
- July 3 - Chicago and North Western RailwayChicago and North Western RailwayThe Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was a Class I railroad in the Midwest United States. It was also known as the North Western. The railroad operated more than of track as of the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s...
holds official groundbreakingGroundbreakingGroundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are often attended by dignitaries such as politicians and...
ceremonies for the construction of the line into WyomingWyomingWyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
's Powder River BasinPowder River BasinThe Powder River Basin is a geologic region in southeast Montana and northeast Wyoming, about east to west and north to south, known for its coal deposits. The region supplies about 40 percent of coal in the United States. It is both a topographic drainage and geologic structural basin...
. - July 16
- The route of AmtrakAmtrakThe National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
's California ZephyrCalifornia ZephyrThe California Zephyr is a long passenger train route operated by Amtrak in the midwestern and western United States.It runs from Chicago, Illinois, in the east to Emeryville, California, in the west, passing through the states of Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California...
is shifted off the Union Pacific RailroadUnion Pacific RailroadThe Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
in WyomingWyomingWyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
to the Denver and Rio Grande Western RailroadDenver and Rio Grande Western RailroadThe Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to Rio Grande or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, is a defunct U.S. railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow gauge line running south from Denver, Colorado in 1870; however, served mainly as a transcontinental...
. - The entire Kowloon Canton Railway (now East Rail Line) between Kowloon (Hung Hom) and Lo Wu stations is electrified.
- The route of Amtrak
September events
- September 23 - In preparation for a sale of the Alaska RailroadAlaska RailroadThe Alaska Railroad is a Class II railroad which extends from Seward and Whittier, in the south of the state of Alaska, in the United States, to Fairbanks , and beyond to Eielson Air Force Base and Fort Wainwright in the interior of that state...
's assets to the state of AlaskaAlaskaAlaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, the United States Railway AssociationUnited States Railway AssociationThe United States Railway Association was a government-owned corporation created by United States federal law that oversaw the creation of Conrail, a railroad corporation that would acquire and operate bankrupt and other failing freight railroads...
sets the railroad's fair market valueFair market valueFair market value is an estimate of the market value of a property, based on what a knowledgeable, willing, and unpressured buyer would probably pay to a knowledgeable, willing, and unpressured seller in the market. An estimate of fair market value may be founded either on precedent or...
at $United States dollarThe United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
22.3 million.
October events
- October 29 - The last GG1PRR GG1The PRR GG1 is a class of electric locomotives that was built for the Pennsylvania Railroad for use in the northeastern United States. A total of 140 GG1s were constructed by its designer General Electric and the Pennsylvania's Altoona Works from 1934 to 1943....
in revenue service pulls its last train, New Jersey TransitNew Jersey TransitThe New Jersey Transit Corporation is a statewide public transportation system serving the United States state of New Jersey, and New York, Orange, and Rockland counties in New York State...
train number 3323. - October 30 - AmtrakAmtrakThe National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
launches a rebranded, thrice-weekly Auto TrainAuto TrainAuto Train is an scheduled train service for passengers and their automobiles operated by Amtrak between Lorton, Virginia , and Sanford, Florida . Although there are similar services around the world, the Auto Train is the only one of its kind in the United States...
using much of the same equipment and the same route as the train operated by Auto-Train CorporationAuto-Train CorporationAuto-Train Corporation was a privately owned railroad which used its own rolling stock, and traveled on rails leased from major railroads along the route of its trains, serving central Florida from points in the Mid-Atlantic region near Washington, DC, and the Mid-West near Louisville, Kentucky,...
.
December events
- December 9 - The Wrawby Junction rail crashWrawby Junction rail crashThe Wrawby Junction rail crash was a train crash which occurred on 9 December 1983, at Wrawby Junction, near Barnetby station in North Lincolnshire, England....
near Barnetby stationBarnetby railway stationBarnetby railway station serves the village of Barnetby-le-Wold in North Lincolnshire. The station area still uses semaphore signals. It is operated by First TransPennine Express, with East Midlands Trains and Northern Rail also serving the station....
in North LincolnshireNorth LincolnshireNorth Lincolnshire is a unitary authority area in the region of Yorkshire and the Humber in England. For ceremonial purposes it is part of Lincolnshire....
, England, killed one passenger. - December 18 - Canadian National RailwayCanadian National RailwayThe Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
abandons track between Renfrew JunctionRenfrew, OntarioRenfrew, Ontario, Canada, is a town on the Bonnechere River in Renfrew County. Located one hour west of Ottawa in Eastern Ontario, Renfrew is the third largest town in the county after Petawawa and Pembroke. The town is a small transportation hub connecting Ontario Highway 60 and Highway 132 with...
and Whitney, OntarioOntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
on the company's Renfrew Subdivision.
Unknown date events
- Benjamin BiagginiBenjamin BiagginiBenjamin Franklin Biaggini was president of the Southern Pacific Company, parent company of Southern Pacific Railroad, from 1964 to 1976 and chairman of the Board of Directors from 1976 to 1983.- References :...
steps down as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Southern Pacific Company, the parent company of the Southern Pacific RailroadSouthern Pacific RailroadThe Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
. - Boston and Maine Corporation is purchased by Guilford Transportation Industries.
- The Seaboard Coast Line RailroadSeaboard Coast Line RailroadThe Seaboard Coast Line Railroad was a former Class I railroad company operating in the Southeastern United States beginning in 1967. Its passenger operations were taken over by Amtrak in 1971...
and the Louisville and Nashville RailroadLouisville and Nashville RailroadThe Louisville and Nashville Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States.Chartered by the state of Kentucky in 1850, the L&N, as it was generally known, grew into one of the great success stories of American business...
merge to form the Seaboard System RailroadSeaboard System RailroadThe Seaboard System Railroad was a former Class I railroad created by merging the railroads of the Family Lines System. Although sharing common ownership, the railroads of the Family Lines System used different names when conducting business...
.