1989 in rail transport
Encyclopedia
January events
- January 1 - Three railways in NorwayRail transport in NorwayThe Norwegian railway system comprises 4,087 km of track of which 2,622 km is electrified and 242 km double track. There are 696 tunnels and 2760 bridges....
are closed: KragerøbanenKragerøbanenThe Kragerø Line was a long railway line between Neslandsvatn and Kragerø in Telemark, Norway. It was opened on 2 December 1927 as part of the Sørland Line. From 10 November 1935, the Sørland Line was extended from Neslandsvatn to Arendal, and the Kragerø Line became a branch. It was mostly...
, NumedalsbanenNumedalsbanenThe Numedal Line is a long railway line that runs up the Numedal valley between Kongsberg and Rødberg in Buskerud, Norway. Built and operated by the Norwegian State Railways, the non-electrified, standard gauge line passes through the municipalities of Kongsberg, Flesberg, Rollag and Nore og Uvdal...
and ValdresbanenValdresbanenThe Valdres Line was a Norwegian railway that connected to the Gjøvik Line at Eina with Fagernes in the district of Valdres. The first stretch opened on 23 November 1902, and the entire route was operational on October 10, 1906. The line was shut down for regular traffic as of 1 January 1989.The...
.
March events
- March 1 - The Abbeville-Grimes Railway (a predecessor of the Bay Line RailroadBay Line RailroadThe Bay Line Railroad is one of several short line railroad companies owned by Genesee & Wyoming Inc. It operates between Panama City, Florida, and Dothan, Alabama, including a branch from Grimes to Abbeville, Alabama, reached via trackage rights on CSX's Dothan Subdivision between Dothan and Grimes...
) begins operations between its namesake cities in AlabamaAlabamaAlabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. - March 4 - The Purley station rail crashPurley station rail crashThe Purley station rail crash was a train accident on the British railway system that occurred just to the north of Purley railway station in the London Borough of Croydon on Saturday 4 March 1989, leaving five dead and 94 injured....
in Croydon, near London, leaves five dead and 94 injured. - March 6 - In the Glasgow Bellgrove rail crashGlasgow Bellgrove rail crashOn 6 March 1989 two Class 303 commuter trains crashed on the Springburn branch of the North Clyde Line, just east of Bellgrove station in the East End of Glasgow, Scotland...
, one passenger and the driver of one train are killed when two British Rail Class 303British Rail Class 303The British Rail Class 303 electric multiple units, also known as "Blue Train" units, were introduced in 1960 for the electrification of the North Clyde and the Cathcart Circle lines in Strathclyde...
commuter trains collide just east of Bellgrove station in the East End of GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
.
May events
- May 12 - The San Bernardino Train DisasterSan Bernardino train disasterThe San Bernardino Train Disaster, sometimes known as the Duffy Street Incident, is a combination of two separate but related incidents which occurred in San Bernardino, California: A runaway train derailment on May 12, 1989, and the subsequent failure on May 25, 1989, of a petroleum pipeline...
occurs in San BernardinoSan BernardinoSan Bernardino, California is a large city in the Inland Empire Metropolitan Area of Southern California.San Bernardino may also refer to:-Landforms:*San Bernardino , a torrent that flows through the Italian province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola...
, California, leaving six dead.
June events
- June 4 - Ufa train disasterUfa train disasterThe Ufa train disaster was an explosion on the Kuybyshev Railway on June 4, 1989 at 1:15 in the Soviet Union, about 50 kilometers from the city of Ufa...
: A natural gas explosion near Ufa, Russia, kills 645 as two trains passing each other throw sparks near a leaky pipeline.
September events
- September 17 - The Grand Canyon RailwayGrand Canyon RailwayThe Grand Canyon Railway , is a passenger railroad which operates between Williams, Arizona, and Grand Canyon National Park South Rim.-Santa Fe Ownership:...
officially reopens and carries passengers to the Grand Canyon National ParkGrand Canyon National ParkGrand Canyon National Park is the United States' 15th oldest national park and is located in Arizona. Within the park lies the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, considered to be one of the Wonders of the World. The park covers of unincorporated area in Coconino and Mohave counties.Most...
for the first time since 19681968 in rail transport-January events:* January 6 - The Hixon rail crash occurs when a low-loader road transporter is struck by an express train on an automatic half-barrier level crossing at Hixon, Staffordshire, England. 11 people are killed...
.
October events
- October 29 - The Lexington Avenue, Roosevelt IslandRoosevelt IslandRoosevelt Island, known as Welfare Island from 1921 to 1973, and before that Blackwell's Island, is a narrow island in the East River of New York City. It lies between the island of Manhattan to its west and the borough of Queens to its east...
and 21st Street stations on the New York City SubwayNew York City SubwayThe New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...
's 63rd Street ExtensionBMT 63rd Street LineThe BMT 63rd Street Line is a rapid transit line of the BMT division of the New York City Subway system. This short line connects the express tracks of the BMT Broadway Line from 57th Street – Seventh Avenue to Lexington Avenue – 63rd Street, where it stub-ends...
open.
December events
- December 1 - The Missouri-Kansas-Texas RailroadMissouri-Kansas-Texas RailroadThe Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad was incorporated May 23, 1870. In its earliest days the MKT was commonly referred to as "the K-T", which was its stock exchange symbol; this common designation soon evolved into "the Katy"....
is merged into the Missouri Pacific RailroadMissouri Pacific RailroadThe Missouri Pacific Railroad , also known as the MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers, including the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway , Texas and Pacific...
. - December - Passenger service over the South Shore LineSouth Shore Line (NICTD)The South Shore Line is an electrically powered interurban commuter rail line operated by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District between Millennium Station in downtown Chicago and the South Bend Regional Airport in South Bend, Indiana...
is taken over by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District.
Unknown date events
- The St. Lawrence and Atlantic RailroadSt. Lawrence and Atlantic RailroadThe St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad , known as St-Laurent et Atlantique Quebec in Canada, is a short line railroad operating between Portland, Maine on the Atlantic Ocean and Montreal, Quebec on the St. Lawrence River. It crosses the Canada-U.S...
is formed from the sale of 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"....
's Berlin Subdivision. - Ferrovie dello StatoFerrovie dello StatoFerrovie dello Stato is a government-owned holding which manage infrastructure and service on the Italian rail network. The subsidiary Trenitalia is the main rail operator in Italy.-Organization:Ferrovie dello Stato subsidiaries are:...
(ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
) introduces ETR 450ETR 450ETR 450 was the first series Italian tilting train .The Pendolino project was started in the 1970s by FIAT Ferroviaria, but also absorbed technology from tilting train experiments from elsewhere, most notably the British Advanced Passenger Trains, FIAT having bought the patents...
trains between RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and MilanMilanMilan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, the first production Fiat FerroviariaFiat Ferroviariathumb|300px|[[FS Class E626]] locomotive, a mainstay of Italian railways starting from the 1930s.Fiat Ferroviaria was the rail division of FIAT of Italy....
PendolinoPendolinoPendolino is an Italian family of tilting trains used in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland, Russian Federation, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, Slovakia, Switzerland, China and shortly in Romania and Poland...
s in regular passenger service. - Michael R. Haverty is promoted to president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe RailwayAtchison, Topeka and Santa Fe RailwayThe Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...
, succeeding W. John Swartz.
November deaths
- November 15 - William N. Deramus IIIWilliam N. Deramus IIIWilliam Neal Deramus III was an American railroad executive; he led the Chicago Great Western Railway , the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, and the Kansas City Southern Railway through periods of great change in the railroad industry.Deramus graduated from the University of Michigan in 1936 and...
, president of Chicago Great Western RailwayChicago Great Western RailwayThe Chicago Great Western Railway was a Class I railroad that linked Chicago, Minneapolis, Omaha, and Kansas City. It was founded by Alpheus Beede Stickney in 1885 as a regional line between St. Paul and the Iowa state line called the Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad...
1949-1957, Missouri-Kansas-Texas RailroadMissouri-Kansas-Texas RailroadThe Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad was incorporated May 23, 1870. In its earliest days the MKT was commonly referred to as "the K-T", which was its stock exchange symbol; this common designation soon evolved into "the Katy"....
1957-1961, Kansas City Southern RailwayKansas City Southern RailwayThe Kansas City Southern Railway , owned by Kansas City Southern Industries, is the smallest and second-oldest Class I railroad company still in operation. KCS was founded in 1887 and is currently operating in a region consisting of ten central U.S. states...
1961-1973, dies (b. 1915).
December deaths
- December 6 - C.L. Dellums, cofounder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car PortersBrotherhood of Sleeping Car PortersThe Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters was, in 1925, the first labor organization led by blacks to receive a charter in the American Federation of Labor . It merged in 1978 with the Brotherhood of Railway and Airline Clerks , now known as the Transportation Communications International Union.The...
(b. 1900). - December 26 - Buck CrumpBuck CrumpNorris Roy Crump, was a Canadian businessman and President of the Canadian Pacific Railway Limited....
, president of Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, 1955–1964 and 1966 (b. 1904).