October 2005 in rail transport - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

October 2 - October 8

October 3

- Datia train crash
Datia train crash
The Datia train accident was a railroad accident that occurred on 3 October 2005 involving a passenger train near Datia in India's Madhya Pradesh Province...

- Six coaches of Indian Railways
Indian Railways
Indian Railways , abbreviated as IR , is a departmental undertaking of Government of India, which owns and operates most of India's rail transport. It is overseen by the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India....

' Bundelkhand Express from Varanasi
Varanasi
-Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...

derail about 400 km (248.5 mi) north of Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....

. The derailed cars struck a nearby signal box
Signal box
On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetable...

before coming to rest on top of one another, killing 18 people and injuring around 100 more. The tracks are cleared and rail service past the accident scene is restored within a day. (newKerala)

October 4

Tajikistan - Passenger train service between the Russian capital of Moscow and the Tajikistan
Tajikistan
Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....

capital of Dushanbe
Dushanbe
-Economy:Coal, lead, and arsenic are mined nearby in the cities of Nurek and Kulob allowing for the industrialization of Dushanbe. The Nurek Dam, the world's highest as of 2008, generates 95% of Tajikistan's electricity, and another dam, the Roghun Dam, is planned on the Vakhsh River...

resumes. The service between the two capitals was suspended in October 2001 by Russia due to an extreme influx of immigrants into Russia, the low quality of the equipment that was used by the Tajik railway and due to Russia's ant-terrorist actions in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

. (RIA Novosti)

October 5

- Malaysia's Finance Minister announces that Keretapi Tanah Melayu
Keretapi Tanah Melayu
Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad or Malayan Railways Limited is the main rail operator in Peninsular Malaysia. The railway system dates back to the British colonial era, when it was first built to transport tin...

(KTM) and the State Railway Department will spend RM
Ringgit
Ringgit mostly refers to the Malaysian ringgit, which is the local currency in Malaysia, but it can also refer to the Brunei dollar or Singapore dollar in the Malay language. The word ringgit was originally used to refer to the serrated edges of Spanish silver dollars widely circulated in the area...

391 million (US$104 million) to upgrade the country's railway system. The upgrades include nine new stations
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...

and updates to four others, several new and upgraded bridges, 22 upgraded grade crossings and an improved signalling
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...

and communication system along the 134 km (83.3 mi) line between Tanjung Aru
Tanjung Aru
Tanjung Aru is a sub-district of Kota Kinabalu of Sabah, in Malaysia. Its main feature is its beach called Tanjung Aru Beach which stretches to over 2 kilometres long. It also has its own township called Pekan Tanjung Aru...

and Tenom
Tenom
Tenom is a town located in Interior Division of Sabah, east Malaysia on the island of Borneo. The town was called Fort Birch in the early colonial period. Its population was estimated to be around 46,200 in the year 2000....

. (Daily Express)
- Xhemali Mehazi, Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...

's Minister of Transport and Communications, announces that the country would need about €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...

500 million (US$596 million) to build a new rail connection between Macedonia, Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

and 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...

. Macedonian officials are working closely with Italian officials on the Corridor 8 project that would oversee the construction of such a rail link. The governments of the countries involved anticipate that the project would become a priority for Macedonia and would help increase trade and tourism in the region. (Focus News)

October 6

- Ireland's Transport Minister Martin Cullen
Martin Cullen
Martin Cullen is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was a Teachta Dála for the Waterford constituency. Cullen was a member of Seanad Éireann and served as Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government , Minister for Transport and Minister for Social and Family Affairs and...

announces plans for random drug
Drug abuse
Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, refers to a maladaptive pattern of use of a substance that is not considered dependent. The term "drug abuse" does not exclude dependency, but is otherwise used in a similar manner in nonmedical contexts...

and alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....

testing of all railway employees. He continued by stating his intention to introduce a bill that would make it illegal to be intoxicated while working on any railway in the country. While the emphasis is on the sobriety of engine drivers, other employees such as dispatchers and maintenance of way workers will be included in the random screenings. (IOL)
- 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...

announces that the City of New Orleans
City of New Orleans
The City of New Orleans is a nightly passenger train operated by Amtrak which travels between Chicago, Illinois and New Orleans, Louisiana. Before Amtrak's formation in 1971, the train was operated by the Illinois Central Railroad along the same route . The train currently operates on a 19½ hour...

and Crescent
Crescent (Amtrak)
The Crescent is a passenger train operated by Amtrak in the eastern part of the United States. It runs daily from Pennsylvania Station in New York City to New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal in New Orleans, Louisiana as train 19 and returns, on the same route, as train 20. Most of the route of...

passenger trains will again serve New Orleans Union Station beginning on Sunday October 9. Before Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...

made landfall, Amtrak suspended City of New Orleans service south of Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....

, and suspended Crescent service south of Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

, in anticipation of damage to the tracks
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...

and 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...

systems surrounding New Orleans. The first departure from New Orleans will be the northbound Crescent at 7:20 AM, followed by the northbound City of New Orleans at 1:45 PM; the first corresponding southbound trains are scheduled to arrive in New Orleans later that afternoon. Amtrak's announcement did not mention service restoration on the transcontinental Sunset Limited
Sunset Limited
The Sunset Limited is a passenger train that for most of its history has run between New Orleans, Louisiana and Los Angeles, California, and that from early 1993 through late August 2005 also ran east of New Orleans to Jacksonville, Florida, making it during that time the only true transcontinental...

. (Amtrak)
- Security is sharply increased on the New York City Subway
New York City Subway
The 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...

after intelligence gathering by the FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...

and CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...

in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

reveals a potential threat. Officials involved in the investigation said that as many as 12 to 20 operatives were planning to meet in New York City as early as October 7 to smuggle explosive devices into the subway system and then detonate them. In response to the threat, the city has assigned at least one uniformed police officer to every subway station in the city, and many more plainclothes officers scattered around the city. Although a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security
United States Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security is a cabinet department of the United States federal government, created in response to the September 11 attacks, and with the primary responsibilities of protecting the territory of the United States and protectorates from and responding to...

described the threat as "specific yet noncredible", New York mayor Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...

ordered the increased security, citing the specificity of the threat. Random searches and increased security was also placed on the city's bus and ferry system. (New York Times)

October 7

- The government of Finland accepts a bill to locate the new national railway agency in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

. In May a dispute among government representatives led to considering the eastern town of Kouvola
Kouvola
Kouvola is a town and municipality in southeastern Finland. It is located northeast of the capital, Helsinki.The city has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is ....

for the agency's headquarters location; the Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party of Finland
The Social Democratic Party of Finland is one of the three major political parties in Finland, along with the Centre Party and the National Coalition Party. Jutta Urpilainen is the current SDP leader. The party has been in the Finnish government cabinet for long periods and has set many...

favored Helsinki while the Centre Party
Centre Party (Finland)
The Centre Party is a centrist and Nordic agrarian political party in Finland. It is one of the four largest political parties in the country, along with the Social Democratic Party , the National Coalition Party and the True Finns , and currently has 35 seats in the Finnish Parliament...

favored Kouvola. Operational factors, such as the fact that both Finnish Railways and the Finnish Rail Administration
Finnish Rail Administration
The Finnish Transport Agency is responsible for the maintenance of Finland's transport system. The Agency took over from the Finnish Rail Administration and parts of the work of the former Finnish Maritime Administration and the Finnish Road Administration on 1 January 2010.- Rail...

(which would both be overseen by the new agency) are headquartered in Helsinki, led to the final decision. The new agency will begin work in September 2006. (NewsRoom Finland)

October 9 - October 15

October 9

- Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....

uses the US$81 million Texas Emissions Reduction Plan Grant awarded to the railroad by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is the environmental agency for the U.S. state of Texas. The commission is headquartered at 12100 Park 35 Circle in Austin....

to place an order for 98 new road switcher
Road switcher
A road switcher is a type of railroad locomotive used for delivering or picking up cars outside of a railroad yard. Since the road switcher must work some distance away from a yard, it needs to be able to operate at road speeds, it must also have high-visibility while it is switching, and it must...

locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...

s from Railpower Technologies
RailPower Technologies
Railpower Technologies Corp. is a subsidiary of R.J. Corman Railroad Group that builds environmentally friendly hybrid and genset yard locomotives, founded by Frank Donnelly and Gerard Koldyk...

. UP's order brings the total number of locomotives sold worldwide by RailPower to 175. UP was previously the first Class I railroad
Class I railroad
A Class I railroad in the United States and Mexico, or a Class I rail carrier in Canada, is a large freight railroad company, as classified based on operating revenue.Smaller railroads are classified as Class II and Class III...

to purchase RailPower's Green Goat locomotives for classification yard
Classification yard
A classification yard or marshalling yard is a railroad yard found at some freight train stations, used to separate railroad cars on to one of several tracks. First the cars are taken to a track, sometimes called a lead or a drill...

switching duties. (RailPower)

October 11

- Georgian Railway
Georgian Railway
Georgian Railway LLC is the national rail company of the country of Georgia.A vital artery linking the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, it sits on the shortest route between Europe and Central Asia...

general director Davit Onoprishvili turns in his resignation, officially stepping down amid rumors of legal and financial problems. Financial Police have been performing investigations at the railway administration's offices for two weeks and as late as October 9, Onoprishvili had denied rumors of his impending resignation. Since his resignation, officials from the Department of Constitutional Security have also been to the railway offices. (The Messenger)

October 14

- The concession for operation of the Kenya-Uganda Railways is awarded to Rift Valley Railways Consortium
Rift Valley Railways Consortium
The Rift Valley Railways Consortium is a consortium that was established to manage the parastatal railways of Kenya and Uganda. The consortium won the bid for private management of the century-old Kenya-Uganda railway in 2005.-History:...

(RVRC), headquartered in South Africa. In announcing the bid, officials state that Rift Valley was selected over RITES Ltd.
RITES Ltd.
RITES Limited is an engineering consultancy company, specializing in the field of transport infrastructure. Established in 1974 by the Government of India, the company's initial charter was to provide consultancy services in rail transport management to operators in India and abroad...

of India, the only other bidder, by a factor of two to one. The new operator is expected to begin management of the combined railway on March 30, 2006. RVRC will not be expected to take up the railways 20.9 billion shilling
Kenyan shilling
The shilling is the currency of Kenya. It is divisible into 100 cents.-Coins:The first coins were issued in 1966 in denominations of 5, 10, 25 and 50 cents, and 1 and 2 shillings. Twenty-five cents coins were not minted after 1969; 2 shillings coins were last minted in 1971...

(US$282 million) debt, but will repay the Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

n government 3 billion shillings ($40.5 million) that was spent to subsidize the railway for the last three years. (Capital FM)

October 15

- Chinese
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

officials announce the completion of the Qingzang railway
Qingzang railway
The Qinghai–Xizang railway, Qingzang railway, or Qinghai–Tibet railway , is a high-elevation railway that connects Xining, Qinghai Province, to Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, in People's Republic of China....

connecting Xining
Xining
Xining is the capital of Qinghai province, People's Republic of China, and the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau. It has 2,208,708 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 1,198,304 live in the built up area made of 4 urban districts.-History:...

, Qinghai Province
Qinghai
Qinghai ; Oirat Mongolian: ; ; Salar:) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake...

, to Lhasa
Lhasa
Lhasa is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China and the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining. At an altitude of , Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world...

, Tibet Autonomous Region
Tibet Autonomous Region
The Tibet Autonomous Region , Tibet or Xizang for short, also called the Xizang Autonomous Region is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China , created in 1965....

. The line's construction, which has been criticized by some who say the new railway will dilute Tibetan culture, had to overcome technical challenges that included building a railway on top of permafrost
Permafrost
In geology, permafrost, cryotic soil or permafrost soil is soil at or below the freezing point of water for two or more years. Ice is not always present, as may be in the case of nonporous bedrock, but it frequently occurs and it may be in amounts exceeding the potential hydraulic saturation of...

and boring tunnel
Tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...

s through solid ice while construction workers breathed bottled oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...

. (The Telegraph)

October 16 - October 22

October 17

- Several fire departments across Belmont County, Ohio
Belmont County, Ohio
Belmont County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. It is part of the Wheeling, West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 70,400. Its county seat is St. Clairsville...

, respond to a fire engulfing a site containing about 500,000 railroad tie
Railroad tie
A railroad tie/railway tie , or railway sleeper is a rectangular item used to support the rails in railroad tracks...

s. Responders were able to bring in tanker trucks to control the blaze and bring it under containment. Since this is the fourth time that fire crews have been called to the scene in as many weeks, investigators are looking into the possibility of arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...

. (Wheeling News-Register) (WTOV)
- British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

railway ministers announce that Scottish Ministers will soon take control of railway administration within Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. The powers will include decisions over operations and infrastructure (such as tracks
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...

and stations
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...

) as well as oversight of the First ScotRail
First ScotRail
ScotRail Railways Ltd. is the FirstGroup-owned train operating company running domestic passenger trains within Scotland, northern England and the cross-border Caledonian Sleeper service to London using the brand ScotRail which is the property of the Scottish Government...

franchise. The British government will also supply a multi-million pound
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...

grant to fund the Scottish rail operations, money that is needed in order to move the Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

station improvement project forward, for example. British ministers will retain train driver licensing as well as other safety obligations. (Scotsman.com)
- Fire
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....

destroys the roundhouse
Roundhouse
A roundhouse is a building used by railroads for servicing locomotives. Roundhouses are large, circular or semicircular structures that were traditionally located surrounding or adjacent to turntables...

of the Deutsche Bundesbahn
Deutsche Bundesbahn
The Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany on September 7, 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft '...

museum in Gostenhof, Nürnberg, Germany. Twenty five diesel and steam locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...

s, including a replica of the Adler
Adler (locomotive)
The Adler was the first locomotive which was successfully commercially used for rail transport of passengers and goods in Germany. The rail vehicle was constructed and built in 1835 from the british railway pioneers George and Robert Stephenson in the english town Newcastle...

(the first locomotive to operate in Germany) were destroyed in the fire. Portions of the 60 m x 80 m structure collapsed in the fire, and the adjacent Nuremberg-Furth railway line and the Franconia highway were closed for a short time while firefighters attended to the blaze overnight. Firefighters faced a difficult task as several of the locomotives were operational and had full fuel tanks; additionally eight acetylene
Acetylene
Acetylene is the chemical compound with the formula C2H2. It is a hydrocarbon and the simplest alkyne. This colorless gas is widely used as a fuel and a chemical building block. It is unstable in pure form and thus is usually handled as a solution.As an alkyne, acetylene is unsaturated because...

tanks exploded in the fire. Damages are estimated at more than €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...

10 million; the cause of the fire has not been determined. Investigators are examining recent roofing work on the structure as one possible cause. (German Steam News) (Tagesschau.de) (Eisenbahn Kurier)

October 18

- The first test trains over a rail connection between North
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...

and South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

are expected to begin operations by the end of October; revenue service over the connection is hoped to begin by the end of 2005. The tests will begin as soon as military protections from both nations are in place. Joint inspections on the Gyeongui Line
Gyeongui Line
The Gyeongui Line is one of the oldest railway lines in Korea. When opened in 1906 it linked Seoul in what is now South Korea to P'yŏngyang and Sinŭiju in what is now North Korea...

(on the peninsula's west coast) took place in late August, while inspections on the eastern Donghae Line will take place on October 23 and October 25. South Korean officials hope that the resumption of service over these connections will help increase trade and travel between the peninsula and mainland Asia. (Seoul Times)
- Railway officials in South Africa announce plans to rehabilitate and use the nation's dormant branch line
Branch line
A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line...

routes that connect smaller communities. The South African government hopes to migrate some heavy truck traffic off of roads and use the railway lines to "unlock the economic potential" of the country's rural communities. The government is also looking to reduce its expenditure on transportation from 14% of GDP
Gross domestic product
Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....

to around 7 or 8%. (allAfrica)
- 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"....

(CN) releases its quarterly report announcing record earnings amid rising accident rates. CN stated earnings for the third quarter of fiscal year 2005 were up to a record $
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...

411 million, compared to $346 million for the same period in 2004. However, from January 2005 through September, CN suffered more than 70 derailment
Derailment
A derailment is an accident on a railway or tramway in which a rail vehicle, or part or all of a train, leaves the tracks on which it is travelling, with consequent damage and in many cases injury and/or death....

s, the most severe being the derailment and chemical spill at Wabamun Lake
Wabamun Lake
Wabamun Lake is one of the most heavily used lakes in Alberta, Canada. It lies west of Edmonton, Alberta. It is long and narrow, covers and is 11 meters deep at its deepest, with somewhat clear water....

, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

, in early August, compared to only 49 for the same period last year. E. Hunter Harrison
E. Hunter Harrison
E. Hunter Harrison is a Tennessee-born railroader who served as the president and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian National Railway through the end of 2009.-Life:...

, CN's CEO, stated "It's hard to be pleased with a quarter when you face those tough issues." (CBC)

October 19

- The United States Department of Transportation
United States Department of Transportation
The United States Department of Transportation is a federal Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with transportation. It was established by an act of Congress on October 15, 1966, and began operation on April 1, 1967...

(USDOT) issues an emergency order that gives railroads operating in the United States thirty days to address the problem of switches
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....

left in the wrong position. Citing nine accidents in 2005 attributed to incorrect switch positions, including the Graniteville train disaster
Graniteville train disaster
The Graniteville train disaster was an American rail disaster that occurred on January 6, 2005, in Graniteville, South Carolina.At roughly 2:40 am Eastern Standard Time, two Norfolk Southern trains collided near an Avondale Mills plant in Graniteville. Norfolk Southern train No. P22 was parked on...

on January 6, Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta
Norman Mineta
Norman Yoshio Mineta, is a United States politician of the Democratic Party. Mineta most recently served in President George W. Bush's Cabinet as the United States Secretary of Transportation, the only Democratic Cabinet Secretary in the Bush administration...

said "Railroads must put an end to these avoidable and deadly mistakes." Federal Railroad Administration
Federal Railroad Administration
The Federal Railroad Administration is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation. The agency was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966...

Administrator Joseph H. Boardman
Joseph H. Boardman
Joseph H. Boardman is the president of Amtrak and formerly Administrator of the United States Federal Railroad Administration.He was nominated by President George W. Bush on March 17, 2005 and confirmed by the United States Senate on April 28, 2005. He was the eleventh Federal Railroad...

added "There is absolutely no excuse for a switch to be left in the wrong position." The penalty for leaving a switch misaligned is set at US$27,000; the emergency order mandates employee training and periodic testing of employee awareness, and requires that railroad engineer
Railroad engineer
A railroad engineer, locomotive engineer, train operator, train driver or engine driver is a person who drives a train on a railroad...

s ensure that switches are set properly before moving trains. (USDOT)
- Alstom
Alstom
Alstom is a large multinational conglomerate which holds interests in the power generation and transport markets. According to the company website, in the years 2010-2011 Alstom had annual sales of over €20.9 billion, and employed more than 85,000 people in 70 countries. Alstom's headquarters are...

is fined US$130,500 by OSHA
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Labor. It was created by Congress of the United States under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, signed by President Richard M. Nixon, on December 29, 1970...

for willful safety violations at the Alstom Drive plant in Hornell, New York
Hornell, New York
Hornell is a city in Steuben County, New York, United States. The population was 9,019 at the 2000 census. The city is named after the Hornell family, early settlers. Its current population has not yet been released by the new census....

. The fines include a $99,000 citation for a dangerous route to the operating cab of the plant's heavy lifting cranes where workers were required to climb over one of the crane's wheels, risking a fall of up to 45 ft (14 m). Other safety violations include a lack of eyewash stations for employees working with corrosive liquids, improper storage of compressed gas tanks and excessive amounts of flammable liquids. Investigations began April 18; Alstom has 17 days to address the problems cited by OSHA. (Community Dispatch)

October 23 - October 29

October 24

- A freight train derails in Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...

's Nangang
Nangang
Nangang District is a southeastern district of Taipei. It is the seat of the Academia Sinica, Taipei World Trade Center Nangang Exhibition Hall, and Nankang Software Park .- Administration :...

District at 4:37 AM local time, causing delays and cancellations of 76 other freight and passenger trains along the route for most of the morning. The derailment affected around 40,000 passengers throughout the day until normal service resumed at 8:20 PM. Initial investigations indicate the derailment was caused by a steel bar that fell onto the track in front of the freight train. (Taipei Times)

October 25

- The governments of Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....

and Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

announce their intentions to rebuild and rehabilitate the Tanzania-Zambia Railroad (TAZARA) "taking into account the historical and strategic importance to the two neighboring states." The statements were made during a visit of Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa
Benjamin Mkapa
Benjamin William Mkapa was the third President of the United Republic of Tanzania and former Chairman for the Revolutionary State Party .-Biography:...

to Zambia for that nation's Independence Day
Politics of Zambia
Politics of Zambia takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Zambia is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the...

celebrations. Although freight traffic along this line has steadily decreased since it was put in service in 1976, passenger revenues have recently begun to increase with more than 565,000 passengers carried in 2004. Details of the rehabilitation strategy have not yet been released. (People's Daily)

October 26

- A Merseyrail
Merseyrail
Merseyrail is a train operating company and commuter rail network in the United Kingdom, centred on Liverpool, Merseyside. The network is predominantly electric with diesel trains running on the City Line. Two City Line branches are currently being electrified on the overhead wire AC system with...

commuter train derails at 5:50 PM local time on the Wirral Line
Wirral Line
The Wirral Line is one of the two commuter railway lines operated by Merseyrail that are centred around Merseyside, England, the other being the Northern Line...

between Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

's Central
Liverpool Central railway station
Liverpool Central railway station is a railway station in Liverpool, England, and forms the central hub of the Merseyrail network, being on both the Northern Line and the Wirral Line. In the years 2008/09, Liverpool Central station was shown to be the busiest station in Liverpool, despite being...

and Lime Street
Liverpool Lime Street railway station
Liverpool Lime Street is a railway station serving the city centre of Liverpool, England. The station lies on a branch of the West Coast Main Line from London Euston, and on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network...

stations. Initial reports indicate that the derailment was caused by a mechanical failure at relatively low speeds; of the 119 passengers on board the derailed train, none were seriously injured, two elderly passengers were treated for minor injuries and released. The train's passengers were safely evacuated by 7:40 PM. Railway union officials stated that the section of track where the derailment occurred is under a temporary speed restriction of 20 mph (32 km/h). (BBC News)

October 28

- Providence and Worcester Railroad
Providence and Worcester Railroad
The Providence and Worcester Railroad is a Class II railroad in the United States. The railroad connects from Gardner in central Massachusetts, south through its namesake cities of Worcester and Providence, Rhode Island, and west from Rhode Island through Connecticut and into New York City...

announces that it has forged an eight-year agreement with the United Transportation Union
United Transportation Union
The United Transportation Union is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. It is a broad-based, transportation labor union representing about 125,000 active and retired railroad, bus, mass transit, and airline workers in the United States....

(UTU), the longest term contract that the UTU has agreed to with any railroad. All of P&W's train operating employees are UTU members. (BusinessWire)

October 29

- Heavy rain and flooding south of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...

, India, cause the derailment of the Delta Express
Delta Express
Delta Express was a no-frills "airline within an airline" brand owned and operated by Delta Air Lines from 1996 to 2003. The airline was headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia....

in the Veligonda rail disaster. About 100 people die in the accident as half of the train's 14 coaches and one of its locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...

s derail sending three of the cars into the flood waters near Veligonda, about 30 km (18.6 mi) south of Hyderabad. Statements from passengers aboard the train relate that they were wakened from their berths and a loud bang and thud were the first indications of problems before the cars came to a stop in the water. (BBC News)

October 30 - October 31

October 31

- Rapid transit
Rapid transit
A 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...

workers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

, go on strike. SEPTA
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority is a metropolitan transportation authority that operates various forms of public transit—bus, subway and elevated rail, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolley bus—that serve 3.9 million people in and around Philadelphia,...

, the fifth largest transit agency in the United States, is forced to temporarily close several lines due to a lack of trained employees. Union negotiators walked out of contract negotiations minutes before the midnight deadline when they failed to come to a conclusion; disputes were centered around employee pay and benefits agreements. All operators on the City, Victory, and Frontier Divisions walked off the job. SEPTA services on the regional rail division continue according to contingency plans, and all bus, trolley, and subway lines are suspended until the conclusion of the work stoppage. (Guardian)
- Yuji and Seiji Tsutsumi announce that they are willing to bid as high as ¥
Japanese yen
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...

560 billion for control of the Seibu Railway
Seibu Railway
is a conglomerate based in Tokorozawa, Japan, with principal business areas in railways, tourism and real estate. Seibu Railway's operations are concentrated in northwest Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture; the name "Seibu" is an abbreviation of "west Musashi," referring to the historic name for this area...

. The bid is in response to a restructuring plan after accounting problems at Kokudo Corporation, the railway's parent company, led to a suspended prison sentence for Yoshiaki Tsutsumi
Yoshiaki Tsutsumi
Yoshiaki Tsutsumi is a Japanese businessman. During the Japanese economic bubble in the late 1980s, Tsutsumi was the wealthiest person in the world for a brief period due to his extensive real estate investments through the Seibu Corporation, which he controlled...

. Yoshiaki is the brother of both Yuji and Seiji and in 1990 was named the richest man in the world by Forbes Magazine. The restructuring plan would sell the railway to American investors for ¥700 per share; the two Tsutsumi brothers are offering ¥1,150-1,300 per share, estimating that the railway is undervaluing itself by as much as 50%. (International Herald Tribune)

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