2007 in rail transport

This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in 2007.

Events

January events

•   January 5 – The first public trains of Taiwan High Speed Rail operate between Taipei and Kaohsiung, a 216 miles (348 km) journey, in 1:36 hours.^[1]
•   January 9 – Government of Estonia buys back majority share in Eesti Raudtee, the national rail operator, from private investors.^[2]
•   January 12 – Railway Age Magazine selects Bill Wimmer, Vice President Engineering for Union Pacific Railroad to receive the 2007 award for Railroader of the Year.^[3]
•   January 30 – The suburban rail network of Melbourne, Australia is thrown into chaos as much of the fleet of new Siemens Nexas Electric Multiple Unit trains is withdrawn from service after a number of incidents of brake failure.^[4]

February events

•   February 7 – At a meeting in Tbilisi, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev sign an agreement authorizing construction of the new Kars-Tbilisi-Baku railway linking the three nations.^[5][6]
•   February 9 – About 2,800 train crew employees of Canadian National (CN) wage a strike action against the railway; the striking workers are members of UTU Canada, the Canadian affiliate of the United Transportation Union.^[7][8][9]
•   February 13 – During a test run a TGV train reaches 553 km/h (343.75 mph) under test conditions with a shortened train on the LGV Est near Passavant-en-Argonne (Marne), 190 km east of Paris.^[10][11]
•   February 18 – 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings: Terrorist explosions on the international Samjhauta Express near the Indian city of Panipat kill 68.
•   February 23 – Grayrigg derailment: A Virgin Trains West Coast services travelling from London Euston to Glasgow Central derails in Cumbria in North-West England due to an inadequate points maintenance regime by Network Rail; one elderly woman dies in hospital as a result of her injuries.
•   February 26 – The United States Federal Railroad Administration delivers its decision to deny a US$2.3 billion loan request made by Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad (DME).^[12][13][14]

March events

•   March 18 – Opening of the Sendai Airport Line in Sendai.^[15]
•   March 23 – Opening of the first phase of the Airport Railroad Express (AREX) between Seoul-Incheon and Gimpo airports (37.6 km (23.4 mi)).^[16]
•   March 25 – The rebuilt Takahatafudō Station, serving the Keiō Line and the Tama Toshi Monorail Line in Japan opens.

April events

•   April 3 – The French TGV sets a new train speed record. The train reached 574.8 km/h (357.2 mph).
•   April 7 – Weekday service begins on T Third Street light-rail line in San Francisco, leading to massive delays in the San Francisco Municipal Railway.^[17]
•   April 23 – Trial runs on 250 km long Eskişehir-Ankara part of 533 km long High-speed train line from Istanbul (Turkey's largest metropolis) to Ankara (capital of Turkey) began.
•   April 23 – Construction begins on the Second Avenue Subway in New York City between 63rd and 105th streets, a resumption of a decades-long project with existing segments elsewhere.
•   April 28 – The Orange Line of Montreal Metro is extended 5.2 km to Montmorency in Laval.

May events

•    May 17 – Official reinauguration of rail services between Dorasan (South Korea) and Kaesong Industrial Region (North Korea).^[18]

June events

•    June 8 – Last Orient Express through overnight service from Paris to Vienna runs.^[19]
•   June 10 – The first section of LGV Est, a high-speed rail line, opens in France. This coincides with improvements to the German rail network to cut travel times from Paris to Eastern France and Germany.
•   June 15 – Revenue freight traffic starts to use the Lötschberg Base Tunnel in the Swiss Alps.^[20]
•   June 28 – Guangzhou Metro's Line 4 extension connecting Huangge to Jinzhou opens.
•   June – $20m allocated for planning and land acquisition for the proposed Australian Inland Railway.

July events

•   July 1 – Kampac Oil of Dubai, as consortium leader, is awarded a construction and operation contract for a new railway line in Ghana connecting Takoradi 800 kilometres (500 mi) to Hamile. The contract, valued at US$1.6 billion, also includes the rehabilitation of a line between Takoradi and Kumasi as part of the Ghanaian government's plans to connect to northern Ghana.^[21]
•   July 1 – The first timetabled run of N700 Series Shinkansen high-speed train.
•   July 18 – Metronet, holder of the maintenance contract for a majority of the London Underground lines, seeks authority of the Mayor of London to go into administration following a dispute about responsibility for cost overruns on its contract.^[22]

August events

•   August 30 – Trubnaya station opened on Moscow Metro.

September events

•   September – Tunneling for East Side Access in New York begins.

October events

•   October 1 – Ferrovías Guatemala (subsidiary of Railroad Development Corporation) suspends all operations.
•   October 31 – MBTA Commuter Rail Greenbush Line opens in Massachusetts.
•   – Last publication of the monthly OAG Rail Guide, successor to the ABC Rail Guide timetable of 1853.^[23]

November events

•   November 7 – Minsk Metro Maskoŭskaja line gets extended to Uruchye.
•   November 11 – West Midlands train operating company franchise is taken over from Silverlink and Central Trains by London Midland (a Govia company) and the East Midlands franchise from Midland Mainline and Central Trains by East Midlands Trains. National Express is the principal loser in these changes. Arriva CrossCountry takes over a revised CrossCountry franchise from Virgin CrossCountry.^[24][25] London Overground Rail Operations commences operation, effectively returning the lines involved to public control.^[26]

 

Eurostar at St Pancras International following opening of High Speed 1

•   November 13 – Strikes in France begin to disrupt SNCF and Paris Metro service.
•   November 14 – High Speed 1 is opened with public passenger services into rebuilt St Pancras International.
•   November 14 – Gewerkschaft Deutscher Lokomotivführer (GDL, or German Train Drivers' Union) engages in a national three-day strike against Deutsche Bahn.
•   November 26 – LYNX light-rail service begins in Charlotte, North Carolina.

December events

•   December 2 – Two railway companies, the MTR Corporation and the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation are merged.^[27]
•   December 9 – National Express East Coast takes over the British InterCity East Coast train operating franchise from GNER.^[28]
•     December 11 – freight service to resume between South Korea and North Korea.
•   December 12 – NBS Mattstetten–Rothrist line converted to the first Swiss high-speed line, being a part of strategic plan Rail 2000 with detailed longer-term projects.
•   December 18 – Grand Central, a new rail operator in England, inaugurates passenger services from Sunderland to London King's Cross.^[29]
•   December 19 – The IE 22000 Class Diesel Multiple Unit enters service on Intercity routes in Ireland.
•   December 23 – The Mandurah line opens as an extension to Transperth's rail network.^[30]
•   December 23 – The Madrid–Valladolid high-speed rail line opens to passengers in Spain, including the 28 kilometres (17 mi) Guadarrama Tunnel, the fourth longest railway tunnel in Europe.
•   December 24 – Moscow Metro Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line gets extended from Park Pobedy to Strogino.
•   December 29 – Sretensky Bulvar station opened on the Lyublinskaya Line of Moscow Metro.
•   – Regular passenger-train service begins in the Lötschberg Base Tunnel in the Swiss Alps.^[31]

Unknown date events

•   – The Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad expects to complete construction on the railroad's expansion into Wyoming's Powder River Basin.
•     – Construction is expected to begin on a new rail link between India and Bhutan.^[32]
•   – JR Central phases out 113 series.

Accidents

•   January 7 – A Washington Metro train derails near downtown Washington, D.C., sending 16 people to the hospital and prompting the rescue of 60 people from a tunnel.^[33]
•   February 18 – 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, a terrorist attack on the Samjhauta Express near the Indian city of Panipat, 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of New Delhi; sixty-eight people are killed.
•   February 23 – Grayrigg derailment: A Virgin Trains West Coast services travelling from London Euston to Glasgow Central derails on faulty points in Cumbria in North-West England. One elderly woman dies in hospital as a result of her injuries.
•   June 5 – Kerang train crash: Eleven people die in a level crossing collision near Kerang, Victoria, Australia.
•   June 12 – A train on the Atlantic Coast Line in Cornwall collides with a car at Chapel level crossing, on the outskirts of Newquay.^[34]
•   July 15 – In Shanghai, platform-edge doors cause a fatal accident. when a man tries to force his way onto a crowded train at the station for the Shanghai Indoor Stadium, but failes. When the doors close, he is trapped between the platform doors and the train, leading to his death.^[35]
•   August 1 – The Benaleka train crash in the Democratic Republic of Congo kills over 100.
•   December 19 – Mehrabpur train derailment occurs near Mehrabpur in Pakistan killing 40.

Deaths

February deaths

• February 23 – Robert W. Richardson, American railroad historian, dies (b. 1910).

August deaths

• August 9 – Walter Rich, Chairman of Delaware Otsego Corporation, New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad and Central New York Railroad (b. 1946).^[36]

December deaths

• December 24 – George Warrington, president of Amtrak 1998–2002, executive director of New Jersey Transit 2002–2007 (b. 1952).

Industry awards

Japan

Awards presented by Japan Railfan Club

• 2007 Blue Ribbon Award: Toyama Light Rail 0600 series "Portram"
• 2007 Laurel Prize: JR East E233 series EMU and Nishi-Nippon Railroad 3000 series EMU

North America

2007 E. H. Harriman Awards^[37]

Group	Gold medal	Silver medal	Bronze medal
A	Norfolk Southern	CSX	BNSF
B	Kansas City Southern Railway	Canadian Pacific's United States subsidiary	Long Island Rail Road
C	Florida East Coast Railway	Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad^[38]	BNSF Suburban Operation in Chicago
S&T	Birmingham Southern Railroad	Conrail	Terminal Railroad Association of St Louis

Awards presented by Railway Age magazine

• 2007 Railroader of the Year: Bill Wimmer (UP)^[3]
• 2007 Regional Railroad of the Year: South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad (SKOL)^[39]
• 2007 Short Line Railroad of the Year: RJ Corman West Virginia Lines^[40]

United Kingdom

Train Operator of the Year

• 2007: Eurostar

References

1. Grauwels, Stephan (January 5, 2007). . Associated Press (reprinted by CBS). Archived from the original on December 24, 2007. Retrieved January 5, 2007.
2. . Railway Gazette International. February 1, 2007. Archived from the original on May 31, 2012. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
3. "Union Pacific Vice President-Engineering Bill Wimmer Named Railway Age Railroader Of The Year" (Press release). Union Pacific Railroad. January 12, 2007. from the original on February 12, 2007. Retrieved January 12, 2007.
4. Moynihan, Stephen (January 30, 2007). "Soapy suds too much for trains in make-or-brake tests". Melbourne: The Age. Retrieved February 2, 2007.
5. "Saakashvili Speaks of Regional Railway, as Deal Signed". UNA-Georgia. February 7, 2007. Retrieved February 7, 2007.
6. . ITAR-TASS. February 7, 2007. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved February 7, 2007.
7. Marowtis, Ross (February 13, 2007). "CN strike likely to continue over weekend".
8. Pringle, Josh (February 11, 2007). . CFRA. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved February 14, 2007.
9. "CN strike challenged: Railway files beef with labour board". Winnipeg Sun. February 11, 2007. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved February 14, 2007.
10. "Alstom commits itself to the French very high speed rail programme" (Press release). Alstom. December 18, 2006. Retrieved February 4, 2007.
11. . Deutsche Presse-Agentur (reprinted by Monsters and Critics). February 14, 2007. Archived from the original on February 18, 2007. Retrieved February 14, 2007.
12. (Press release). United States Federal Railroad Administration. February 26, 2007. Archived from the original on March 4, 2007. Retrieved February 28, 2007.
13. "FRA Rejects Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad's Loan Application". L.B. Foster. PR Newswire. February 27, 2007. Retrieved February 28, 2007.
14. . Post-Bulletin. February 28, 2007. Archived from the original on September 23, 2007. Retrieved February 28, 2007.
15. Kusamichi, Yoshikazu (March 16, 2017). "仙台空港鉄道、開業10周年で記念切符など発売…輸送密度は倍増". Response.jp (in Japanese). from the original on April 15, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
16. . The Chosun Ilbo. March 21, 2007. Archived from the original on August 26, 2014. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
17. Gordon, Rachel (April 11, 2007). . The San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on November 13, 2007. Retrieved April 12, 2007.
18. "First Regular Train Service Crossess Inter-Korean Border". Korea Report. December 11, 2007. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
19. "'Hidden Europe' magazine e-news Issue 2007/15". June 7, 2007. from the original on July 1, 2007. Retrieved June 7, 2007.
20. Meillasson, Sylvain (August 2007). "Lötschberg Base Tunnel opens". Today's Railways Europe. 140: 19–26.
21. "Kampac wins Ghana railway contract". Khaleej Times. July 1, 2007. Retrieved July 5, 2007.
22. BBC News (July 18, 2007). "Metronet calls in administrators". from the original on August 26, 2007. Retrieved July 18, 2007.
23. Knowlman, Brian (Summer 2007). "What time's the next timetable?". National Railway Museum Review. 120: 31–3.
24. "Virgin loses Cross Country rail". BBC News. July 10, 2007. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
25. Haigh, Philip (July 18–31, 2007). "HSTs to CrossCountry as Arriva wins £1.1bn deal". Rail. 570: 6–7.
26. (Press release). Transport for London. September 5, 2006. Archived from the original on June 10, 2007. Retrieved June 19, 2007.
27. Rail Merger All Set For December 2, 2007
28. . Department for Transport. Archived from the original on January 19, 2008. Retrieved January 21, 2008.
29. "Passenger services begin Tuesday December 18". Grand Central. December 18, 2007. Retrieved January 4, 2008.^{[dead link]}
30. Acott, Kent (December 18, 2017). "Joondalup and Mandurah train lines celebrate significant anniversaries". The West Australian. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
31. Trains News Wire (April 29, 2005). "Swiss complete digging Alpine tunnel". Retrieved May 4, 2005.^{[dead link]}
32. Kolkata Newsline (March 6, 2006). . Archived from the original on June 27, 2006. Retrieved March 7, 2006.
33. Klein, Allison; Martin Weil (January 8, 2007). "Green Line Metro Train Derails; at Least 18 Hurt". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 14, 2007.
34. "Driver injured in train collision". BBC. June 12, 2007. from the original on June 16, 2007. Retrieved June 13, 2007.
35. "Man caught between subway train and safety doors dies in Shanghai". International Herald Tribune.
36. Grace, Tom (August 10, 2007). "Railroad chairman Rich dies". The Daily Star. Retrieved August 10, 2007. ^{[dead link]}
37. (Press release). Association of American Railroads. May 17, 2007. Archived from the original on June 29, 2007. Retrieved May 18, 2007.
38. (Press release). RailAmerica. May 18, 2007. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved May 18, 2007.
39. Bronson, Carol (March 21, 2008). . Pratt Tribune. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved March 25, 2008.
40. (PDF). American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 9, 2008. Retrieved July 9, 2008.