April 1–2

• April 1
  • All former BC Rail systems and operations are fully integrated into those of the purchasing railroad, Canadian National Railway
    Canadian National Railway
    The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
    
    . http://cn.ca/productsservices/BCRail/en_BCRail.shtml
  • Kansas City Southern Railway
    Kansas City Southern Railway
    The 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...
    
     completes its controlling interest purchase of TFM
    Grupo Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana
    Kansas City Southern de México , formerly Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana , is the name of a company dedicated to freight transportation using rail in the North Eastern part of Mexico...
    
    .
  • OmniTRAX
    OmniTRAX
    OmniTRAX, Inc. is one of North America's largest private railroad and transportation management companies, providing management services to 16 regional and short-line railroads that serve 10 U.S...
    
     purchases Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado RailNet
    Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado RailNet
    The Nebraska Kansas Colorado Railway , formerly the Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado RailNet, is based in Grant, NE and operates about of track in Southwestern Nebraska, Northern Kansas and Northeastern Colorado...
    
    , Georgia and Florida RailNet
    Georgia and Florida RailNet
    The Georgia and Florida Railway is a short line railroad operating in Georgia and Florida, and is a subsidiary of OmniTRAX. The railroad spans over numerous different rail lines, most of which radiate out of Albany, Georgia....
    
     and Illinois RailNet
    Illinois RailNet
    The Illinois Railway is a shortline railroad operating in northern Illinois. It operates of former Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway trackage. This railroad was created in 1997 and operates 4 lines in Northern Illinois...
    
     from North American RailNet
    North American RailNet
    North American RailNet, Inc., based in Bedford, Texas, was a holding company of short line railroads. It formerly owned the following:...
    
    .

April 3–9

• April 4
  • East Japan Railway Company
    East Japan Railway Company
    is the largest passenger railway company in the world and one of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo....
    
     and Tokyo Waterfront Area Rapid Transit introduce women-only passenger cars in trains on the Saikyo
    Saikyo Line
    The is a railway line between Ōsaki Station in Shinagawa, Tokyo, and Ōmiya Station in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It is a part of the East Japan Railway Company network...
    
     and Rinkai
    Rinkai Line
    The is a railway line located in Tokyo, Japan. It is the only line operated by the third-sector company Tokyo Waterfront Area Rapid Transit. It connects central Tokyo to the artificial islands of Aomi and Odaiba...
    
     Lines to deter groping. http://www.trains.com/content/dynamic/articles/000/000/005/830xrwog.asp?
  • The sale of General Motors Electro-Motive Division
    General Motors Electro-Motive Division
    Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc., also referred to as "EMD", is a wholly owned subsidiary of Progress Rail Services Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc., that designs, manufactures and sells diesel-electric locomotives and diesel power engines worldwide under the Electro-Motive...
    
     to Greenbriar Equity Group and Berkshire Partners
    Berkshire Partners
    Berkshire Partners, the Boston-based private equity firm, has invested in leading mid-sized companies for over twenty-five years through eight investment funds with aggregate capital of $11 billion. Berkshire has developed specific industry experience in several areas including retailing, consumer...
    
     is completed; the new company is known as Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc. (EMD). http://www.gmemd.com/en/company/news/links/20050404_sale_done.htm

April 10–16

• April 11 – Minnesota
  Minnesota
  Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
  
   Governor
  Governor of Minnesota
  The Governor of Minnesota is the chief executive of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty different people have been governors of the state, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory. Alexander Ramsey, the first territorial...
  
   Tim Pawlenty
  Tim Pawlenty
  Timothy James "Tim" Pawlenty , also known affectionately among supporters as T-Paw, is an American politician who served as the 39th Governor of Minnesota . He was a Republican candidate for President of the United States in the 2012 election from May to August 2011...
  
   signs into law a bonding bill for the Northstar Corridor Development Authority in Minneapolis
  Minneapolis, Minnesota
  Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
  
   worth US$866 million.
• April 13 – The transport ministry of Bulgaria
  Bulgaria
  Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
  
   issues the first freight transport license to a private company, Bulgarian Railroad Company
  Bulgarian Railroad Company
  Българска железопътна компания АД , in English, The Bulgarian Railway Company is the first privately held railfreight company to obtain a license in Bulgaria....
  
  , to operate on the nation's rail network. http://www.bgnewsnet.com/story.php?lang=en&sid=19996
• April 14 – Nineteen cars of a southbound Union Pacific train operating on Canadian National Railway
  Canadian National Railway
  The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
  
   tracks south of Superior, Wisconsin
  Superior, Wisconsin
  Superior is a city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 26,960 at the 2010 census. Located at the junction of U.S. Highways 2 and 53, it is north of and adjacent to both the Village of Superior and the Town of Superior.Superior is at the western...
  
  , derail and cause a forest fire near Solon Springs, Wisconsin
  Solon Springs, Wisconsin
  Solon Springs is a village in Douglas County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 576 at the 2000 census. The village is located within the Town of Solon Springs.-Transportation:U.S. Highway 53 serves as a main arterial route in the community...
  
  . http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/11396676.htm
• April 15
  • Amtrak
    Amtrak
    The 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...
    
     cancels all Acela Express
    Acela Express
    The Acela Express is Amtrak's high-speed rail service along the Northeast Corridor in the Northeast United States between Washington, D.C., and Boston via Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York...
    
     trains between Washington, DC, New York City and Boston as cracks are found in the brakes on a majority of the trainsets' coaches. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/15/national/15cnd-amtr.html?hp&ex=1113624000&en=b453b492802ee253&ei=5094&partner=homepage http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Copy/Simple_Copy_Page&c=am2Copy&cid=1093553993887&ssid=25
  • SEPTA begins construction on an US$85 million project to replace and upgrade signal
    Railway signal
    A signal is a mechanical or electrical device erected beside a railway line to pass information relating to the state of the line ahead to train/engine drivers. The driver interprets the signal's indication and acts accordingly...
    
    , communications and track
    Rail tracks
    The track on a railway or railroad, also known as the permanent way, is the structure consisting of the rails, fasteners, sleepers and ballast , plus the underlying subgrade...
    
     switch
    Railroad switch
    A railroad switch, turnout or [set of] points is a mechanical installation enabling railway trains to be guided from one track to another at a railway junction....
    
     equipment between its Wayne Junction and Glenside
    Glenside
    -Places:* Glenside, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide* Glenside, Saskatchewan, Canada, a village* Glenside No. 377, Saskatchewan, a rural municipality* Glenside, Bristol, a campus of the University of the West of England** Glenside Museum...
    
     stations
• April 16 – Alaska Railroad
  Alaska Railroad
  The 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...
  
   opens its new headquarters building and operations center in Anchorage, Alaska
  Anchorage, Alaska
  Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
  
  . http://www.ktuu.com/CMS/templates/master.asp?articleid=12935&zoneid=4

April 17–23

• April 20 – UTA TRAX
  UTA TRAX
  TRAX is a three-line light rail system in Utah's Salt Lake Valley, serving Salt Lake City and several of its suburbs throughout Salt Lake County. The system is operated by the Utah Transit Authority ....
  
  , in Salt Lake City, Utah
  Salt Lake City, Utah
  Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
  
  , begins construction of its 900 South Station, the railroad's first new station
  Train station
  A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
  
   in six years; this is the first station for the railroad that is to be built in a mainly residential area.
• April 21 – Vadodara rail collision occurred at the village of Samlaya near Vadodara
  Vadodara
  Vadodara formerly known as Baroda is the third most populated city in the Indian State of Gujarat . It is one of the four cities with the population of over 1 million...
  
   in Gujarat, Western India, when the Sabarmati Express passenger train crashed at high speed into a stationary goods train carrying cement, killing at least 17.
• April 23 – Los Angeles Metrolink
  Metrolink (Southern California)
  Metrolink is a commuter rail system serving Los Angeles and the surrounding area of Southern California; it currently consists of six lines and 55 stations using of track....
  
   opens a new station in Palmdale
  Palmdale, California
  Palmdale is a city located in the center of northern Los Angeles County, California, United States.Palmdale was the first community within the Antelope Valley to incorporate as a city on August 24, 1962; 47 years later, voters approved creating a charter city in November, 2009. Palmdale is...
  
   on the system's Antelope Valley line. http://www.trains.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/005/872uxhif.asp

April 24–30

• April 25 – Amagasaki rail crash
  Amagasaki rail crash
  The Amagasaki rail crash occurred on 25 April 2005 at 09:19 local time , just after the local rush hour. The Rapid Service came off the tracks on the West Japan Railway Company Fukuchiyama Line in Amagasaki, Hyōgo Prefecture, near Osaka, just before Amagasaki Station on its way for Dōshisha-mae...
  
  : a JR West commuter train derails and strikes an apartment building in Amagasaki, Hyogo
  Amagasaki, Hyogo
  is an industrial city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on April 1, 1916. Its population is around 460,000, below its peak of over 554,000 in 1971.-History:...
  
  , Japan, killing 106 and injuring more than 460 others.
• April 26 – Polgahawela level crossing collision
  Polgahawela level crossing collision
  On April 27, 2005, at Polgahawela in Sri Lanka, a serious bus accident occurred on a level crossing.- Overview :The bus was a local service to Alawwa, reportedly carrying over 90 people. At 0830AM to 0845AM local time , the bus was travelling through Polgahawela, 80 km north-east of Colombo...
  
  : bus collides with Sri Lanka Railways
  Sri Lanka Railways
  Sri Lanka Railway Department, branded "Sri Lanka Railways", is a key department of the Sri Lankan Government under the Ministry of Transport with a history that begins in 1858...
  
   train at a level crossing
  Level crossing
  A level crossing occurs where a railway line is intersected by a road or path onone level, without recourse to a bridge or tunnel. It is a type of at-grade intersection. The term also applies when a light rail line with separate right-of-way or reserved track crosses a road in the same fashion...
  
   near Polgahawela
  Polgahawela
  Polgahawela is a town in north western Sri Lanka. The town is most notable for a major railway accident that occurred in 2005. Polgahawela is a small city that belongs to the North Western Province of Sri Lanka, and situated at a distance of 80 km north-east from the capital city of Colombo; 50 km...
  
  ; 37 bus passengers die.
• April 28
  • The English, Welsh and Scottish Railway acquires the assets of Probotec Limited, the leading manufacturer of railroad freight car suspension systems in Europe. http://www.ews-railway.co.uk/cmsystem/news_article.asp?guid={D0A207AC-C79E-407E-B11D-D571C69C3A8A}
  • Swiss engineers blast through the last section of rock on the first bore of the Loetschberg base tunnel
    Lötschberg Base Tunnel
    The Lötschberg Base Tunnel is a railway tunnel on the BLS Lötschbergbahn's Lötschberg Line cutting through the Alps of Switzerland some below the existing Lötschberg Tunnel. It is currently the world's longest land tunnel and accommodates passenger and freight trains. It runs between Frutigen,...
    
     project under the Alps
    Alps
    The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
    
    . http://www.trains.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/005/883laawr.asp See also Swiss finish drilling world's longest overland tunnel
• April 30 – The English, Welsh and Scottish Railway (EWS) was expected to close a deal that will allow the railway to operate freight trains through the Channel Tunnel
  Channel Tunnel
  The Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep...
  
  ; such operations would make EWS one of the first non-governmental companies to operate trains on France's national rail
  SNCF
  The SNCF , is France's national state-owned railway company. SNCF operates the country's national rail services, including the TGV, France's high-speed rail network...
  
   network.http://www.trains.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/005/836swune.asp

Deaths

Trains News Wire references

• (April 8, 2005), EWS close to Channel Tunnel deal. Retrieved April 12, 2005.
• (April 27, 2005), Metrolink opens Palmdale commuter station. Retrieved May 4, 2005.
• (April 29, 2005), Swiss complete digging Alpine tunnel. Retrieved May 4, 2005.
• (April 5, 2005), Tokyo introduces women-only trains to prevent groping. Retrieved April 7, 2005.