| 2007, 2008, 2009 |
| Years in rail transport 2007 in rail transport 2008 in rail transport 2009 in rail transport |
This article lists events related to rail transport that are currently scheduled to occur in 2008. Please be aware that the actual dates that these events occur on may differ substantially from what is shown here.
Contents |
[edit] Events
[edit] By month
[edit] January events
[edit] February events
– opening of Santo Domingo Metro.
February 27 – National Express Group changes the name of English railway operating company one to National Express East Anglia as part of a company-wide rebranding exercise.[1][2]
[edit] March events
March 15 – The Osaka Higashi Line is scheduled to open in Osaka, Japan; the opening was originally scheduled for 2006, but it was delayed due to problems acquiring land.
March 27 – Heathrow Terminal 5 station opens in London.
- Kolkata Metro is extended from Tollygunge station to Pranabnagar station.
[edit] April events

April 28 – Wrexham & Shropshire begin to run passenger services between London Marylebone station, the West Midlands, Shropshire and east Wales.[3][4][5]
– FrontRunner, a new commuter rail service, begins running in Utah.
[edit] May events
[edit] June events
June 2 - June 6 AfricaRail 2008 Conference [6]
[edit] July events
[edit] August events
- August 1
– China officially opens the Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Railway line, the first in the world regularly to host trains traveling up to 350 km/h (220 mph).[7][8][9]
– LNER-design Peppercorn Class A1 60163 Tornado makes first official move under its own steam, the first main line steam locomotive built in Britain since 1960.[10]
[edit] September events
– Westside Express Service begins service in Oregon.
[edit] October events
[edit] November events
[edit] December events
December – The first section of the new METRO Light Rail system, part of Valley Metro in Phoenix, Arizona, is scheduled to open.[11][12][13]
[edit] By season
[edit] Summer events
– The project to rebuild and upgrade Guiyang Southern Station to more than double its capacity is expected to be completed.[14]
[edit] Unknown date events
– Indian Railways expects to complete the conversion of its electrified section in Mumbai from a 1,500 volt DC system to 25,000 volts AC; this will make the Mumbai section's electrification consistent with the rest of Indian Railways' network.
– Vietnam expects to complete construction on the Hanoi-Lao Cai railway line upgrade.[15]
– The first line of Jerusalem's light rail system is scheduled to begin operations.[16]
– The city of Saint Petersburg, Russia, will begin construction of a new intercity light railway beginning with a 26.5 km (16 mi) section between Baltiyskaya Zhemchuzhina and the Obukhovo metro station.[17]
– Pakistan will begin construction of a major railway line in Afghanistan. An initial 10.5 km stretch of track will be laid from Pakistan border town of Chaman to Spin Boldak in Afghanistan at cost of USD 11.5m. A second phase envisages extending line to Kandahar for eventual connection via the western city of Herat to Khushka in Turkmenistan. The final phase would link 1676mm gauge with Central Asian 1524mm gauge. It is not clear where the break of gauge station(s) will be.[18]
– Canadian Pacific Railway expects to close on the purchase of Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad.[19][20][21]
– Canadian National Railway expects to close on the purchase of Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway.[22][23]
[edit] Deaths
[edit] March deaths
- March 16 – John Shedd Reed, president of Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway 1967-1986 (b. 1917).[24][25]
[edit] References
- ^ "'one' Railway to vanish as National Express begins major rebranding exercise" (PDF) Page 9. Railway Herald (2007-11-17). Retrieved on 2007-11-17.
- ^ Clinnick, Richard (March 12-25 2008). "NX ditches 'one' brand with East Anglian overhaul promise". Rail 587: 12–13.
- ^ "Setback for new Wrexham service". Railway Magazine 153 (1273): 12. May 2007.
- ^ "New direct rail service launches this April". Wrexham & Shropshire. Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
- ^ Clinnick, Richard (May 7-20 2008). "40 years on – Wrexham and Shropshire takes to the rails". Rail 591: 6–7.
- ^ Africa Rail 2008 - programme
- ^ "China launches high-speed train", BBC News (2008-08-01). Retrieved on 1 August 2008.
- ^ "China opens Beijing-Tianjin railway one week ahead of Olympics", Xinhua (2008-08-01). Retrieved on 1 August 2008.
- ^ Fletcher, Hannah (2008-08-01). "China inaugurates 220mph fastest rail service in world in time for Olympics", Times Online. Retrieved on 1 August 2008.
- ^ "A1 Steam Locomotive Trust". Retrieved on 2008-08-27.
- ^ Associated Press (reprinted by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, February 16, 2005), Phoenix begins work on light rail. Retrieved February 16, 2005.
- ^ Valley Metro. "Construction schedule". Retrieved on 2006-09-20.
- ^ Holstege, Sean (2006-06-30). "Plan has light rail on track", Arizona Republic. Retrieved on 26 February 2008.
- ^ CRI Online (December 28, 2005), Building of Railway Hub in SW China Started. Retrieved December 29, 2005.
- ^ Xinhua (September 25, 2005), France to fund Vietnam in upgrading busiest railway route. Retrieved September 27, 2005.
- ^ Lefkovits, Etgar; Jerusalem Post (February 8, 2006), Jerusalem-TA high-speed railway to be online in 2010. Retrieved February 8, 2006.
- ^ "Construction of intercity light railway to begin in St Pete in 2008", ITAR-TASS (2007-03-06). Retrieved on 6 March 2007.
- ^ "Govt considers railway links with central Asia".
- ^ Goldfarb, Jeffrey; Reuters (2007-09-05). "CP Rail to Buy DM&E For At Least $1.5 Billion", nytimes.com. Retrieved on 5 September 2007.
- ^ "Investor Fact Sheet" (PDF). CP Rail (2007-09-04). Retrieved on 2007-09-05.
- ^ CP Rail (2007-09-04). Canadian Pacific announces agreement to acquire DM&E Railroad. Press release. http://www8.cpr.ca/cms/English/Media/News/General/2007/CP+announces+agreement+to+acquire+DM+and+E+Railroad.htm. Retrieved on 2007-09-05.
- ^ "CN Railway to buy EJ&E line for $300 million", Reuters (2007-09-26). Retrieved on 26 September 2007.
- ^ Canadian National Railway (2007-09-26). CN to acquire key operations of Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway for US$300 million. Press release. http://cn.ca/about/media/news_releases/2007/3rd_quarter/en_News20070926.shtml. Retrieved on 2007-09-26.
- ^ Associated Press (2008-03-17). "John Shedd Reed, rail executive", San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved on 17 March 2008.
- ^ Shah, Tina (2008-03-17). "John Shedd Reed, 1917 - 2008", Chicago Tribune. Retrieved on 17 March 2008.