April 2005 in rail transport

April events

April 1 – April 2

* April 1
** All former BC Rail systems and operations are fully integrated into those of the purchasing railroad, Canadian National Railway. [http://cn.ca/productsservices/BCRail/en_BCRail.shtml]
** Kansas City Southern Railway completes its controlling interest purchase of TFM.
** OmniTRAX purchases Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado RailNet, Georgia and Florida RailNet and Illinois RailNet from North American RailNet.

April 3 – April 9

* April 4
** Trains portal/DYK image|JR-LadiesOnly-M0944.jpg|Ladies only sign East Japan Railway Company and Tokyo Waterfront Area Rapid Transit introduce women-only passenger cars in trains on the Saikyo and Rinkai Lines to deter groping. [http://www.trains.com/content/dynamic/articles/000/000/005/830xrwog.asp?]
** The sale of General Motors Electro-Motive Division to Greenbriar Equity Group and Berkshire Partners 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 – April 16

* April 11 - Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty signs into law a bonding bill for the Northstar Corridor Development Authority in Minneapolis worth $866 million.
* April 13 - The transport ministry of Bulgaria issues the first freight transport license to a private company, Bulgarian Railroad Company, 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 tracks south of Superior, Wisconsin, derail and cause a forest fire near Solon Springs, Wisconsin. [http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/11396676.htm]
* April 15
** Amtrak cancels all Acela Express 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 $85 million project to replace and upgrade signal, communications and track switch equipment between its Wayne Junction and Glenside stations
* April 16 - Alaska Railroad opens its new headquarters building and operations center in Anchorage, Alaska. [http://www.ktuu.com/CMS/templates/master.asp?articleid=12935&zoneid=4]

April 17 – April 23

* April 18 - Vadodara rail collision between passenger train and stationary freight train kills 18.
* April 20 - UTA TRAX, in Salt Lake City, Utah, begins construction of its 900 South Station, the railroad's first new station in six years; this is the first station for the railroad that is to be built in a mainly residential area.
* April 21 - At least 17 people are killed and 78 injured in a collision between a passenger train and stationary goods train in western India.
* April 23 - Los Angeles Metrolink opens a new station in Palmdale on the system's Antelope Valley line. [http://www.trains.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/005/872uxhif.asp]

April 24 – April 30

* April 25 - A JR West commuter train derails and strikes an apartment building in Amagasaki, Hyogo, Japan, killing 106 and injuring more than 460 others; see Amagasaki rail crash.
* 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 project under the Alps. [http://www.trains.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/005/883laawr.asp] "See also "
* 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; such operations would make EWS one of the first non-governmental companies to operate trains on France's national rail network. [http://www.trains.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/005/836swune.asp] "

Deaths

* April 22 - Margaret Landry Moore, "Miss Southern Belle" spokesmodel for Kansas City Southern's "Southern Belle" passenger trains (b. 1923). [http://www.trains.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/005/872uxhif.asp]
* April 28 - Frank Turpin, CEO of Alaska Railroad, 1985–1993 (b. 1923). [http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/6437142p-6316333c.html]

References

* (July 2005), "Abandonments and Acquisitions", "Trains Magazine", p. 19.
* Amtrak (April 15 2005), [http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Copy/Simple_Copy_Page&c=am2Copy&cid=1093553993887&ssid=25 Service Alert: Acela Express - Amtrak Cancels All Friday and Saturday Acela Express Service Due to Brake Problem] . Retrieved April 15 2005.
* Associated Press (April 14 2005), [http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/11396676.htm Freight train derails, burns in northwestern Wisconsin] . Retrieved April 14 2005.
* Canadian National Railway (March 21 2005), " [http://cn.ca/productsservices/BCRail/en_BCRail.shtml CN – BC Rail Systems Integration] ". Retrieved March 21 2005.
* (July 2005), "City Rail briefs", "Trains Magazine", p. 29.
* EWS Railway (April 28 2005), [http://www.ews-railway.co.uk/cmsystem/news_article.asp?guid={D0A207AC-C79E-407E-B11D-D571C69C3A8A} EWS acquires the assets of Probotec Limited] . Retrieved April 30 2005.
* General Motors Electro-Motive Division (April 4 2005), " [http://www.gmemd.com/en/company/news/links/20050404_sale_done.htm Greenbriar Equity Group and Berkshire Partners Complete Acquisition of Electro-Motive from General Motors] ". Retrieved April 13 2005.
* Hauser, Kristine, New York Times (April 15 2005), " [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/15/national/15cnd-amtr.html?hp&ex=1113624000&en=b453b492802ee253&ei=5094&partner=homepage Amtrak Suspends Acela Trains After Finding Brake Problems] ". Retrieved April 15 2005.
* Kansas City Southern Industries (April 1, 2005), " [http://notes.kcsi.com/WebApps/kcspress.nsf/626e6035eadbb4cd85256499006b15a6/3459278460cbce2f86256fd600562252?OpenDocument Kansas City Southern Announces Closing of TFM Transaction; Naming of TFM Interim CEO] ". Retrieved May 26, 2005.
* Mapaye, John, KTUU (April 16 2005), " [http://www.ktuu.com/CMS/templates/master.asp?articleid=12935&zoneid=4 Railroad opens new operations center] ". Retrieved April 18 2005.

Trains News Wire references

* (April 8 2005), " [http://www.trains.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/005/836swune.asp EWS close to Channel Tunnel deal] ". Retrieved April 12 2005.
* (April 27 2005), " [http://www.trains.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/005/872uxhif.asp Metrolink opens Palmdale commuter station] ". Retrieved May 4 2005.
* (April 29 2005), " [http://www.trains.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/005/883laawr.asp Swiss complete digging Alpine tunnel] ". Retrieved May 4 2005.
* (April 5 2005), " [http://www.trains.com/content/dynamic/articles/000/000/005/830xrwog.asp Tokyo introduces women-only trains to prevent groping] ". Retrieved April 7 2005.