1962 in rail transport explained

Events

January events

• January 4 – New York City Subway introduces a driverless train.
• January 8 – The Harmelen train disaster, the worst railway accident in the history of the Netherlands, occurs when one passenger train driver misses a warning signal and passes a red signal to collide nearly head-on with another passenger train. 93 are killed.
• January 28 – The last lines of streetcars in Washington, D.C., end operations.^{[1] [2]}

February events

• February 1 – The Nordland Line in Norway is completed and opened to Bodø.

March events

• March 15 – Canadian Pacific Railway receives authorization to discontinue passenger train service between Ottawa and Chalk River.^[3]
• March 23 – In Tokyo, Japan, the Marunouchi Line branch is extended from Nakano-fujimicho to Honancho.^[4]

May events

• May 3 – Mikawashima train crash in Japan kills 160.
• May 22 – SNCF in France completes electrification from Strasbourg through to Paris.
• May 23 – Drilling for the new Montreal Metro system commences.
• May 31
  • Toei Subway Line 1 (present-day Asakusa Line) opens between Asakusabashi and Higashi-Nihonbashi in Tokyo, Japan.^[5]
  • The Hibiya Line is extended north from Minami-senju to Kita-senju and south from Naka-okachimachi to Ningyocho.^[6] Through service to the Tobu Isesaki Line also begins.

June events

• June 30 – The Norfolk and Western Railway discontinues electrification on the former Virginian Railway.

July events

• July 17 – Canadian National Railway debuts a new paint scheme on its transcontinental passenger train, the Super Continental.

August events

• August 29 – In Tokyo, Japan, the Hibiya Line begins service between Kasumigaseki and Higashi-ginza.^[7]

September events

• September 1  - Port Authority Trans-Hudson assumes operation of the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad.^[8]
• September 7  - The Buckfastleigh, Totnes and South Devon Railway, in England, is closed by the Western Region of British Railways.
• September 30 – Toei Subway Line 1 (present-day Asakusa Line) is extended from Higashi-Nihonbashi to Ningyocho in Tokyo, Japan.

October events

• October 3 – British railway unions call a one-day strike in protest of workshop closures.^[9]
• October 11 – Colorado and Southern Railway 2-8-0 number 641 pulls the last steam locomotive-operated regular daily service revenue train on a standard gauge railroad in the United States when it pulls a train from Leadville to Climax, Colorado.
• October 28 – The Lake Street Elevation of the Chicago Transit Authority rail system is placed in operation, relocating 2.6 miles of the former at-grade portion of the route onto the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company's elevated right-of-way, with new stations at Central, Austin, Ridgeland, Oak Park and Harlem. The improvement eliminated a total of 22 grade crossings in Chicago, Oak Park and Forest Park.

Unknown date events

• Railway extended to Wau, South Sudan.
• New York Central purchases the first electric multiple unit passenger cars from Pullman-Standard for use on the Metro-North railroad.
• Union Pacific 3985, a Challenger locomotive, is removed from revenue service on the Union Pacific Railroad.
• First Indian Railways Class WDM-2, from ALCO, introduced. The class will eventually exceed 2,800 units.^[10]
• ALCO closes the ALCO Thermal Products Division (formerly Brooks Locomotive Works) plant in Dunkirk, New York.
• Harry A. deButts is succeeded by D. William Brosnan as president of the Southern Railway.
• The Northern Refrigerator Car Line is combined with Merchants Despatch.

Deaths

• February 2 – Ralph Budd, president of the Great Northern Railway 1919–1932 and Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad 1932–1949 (b. 1879).

References

• Web site: 2000. American Experience / Streamliners / People & Events / Ralph Budd. PBS. February 22, 2005. March 9, 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20050309160358/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/streamliners/peopleevents/p_rbudd.html. dead.
• Web site: Norfolk Southern Railway . December 2, 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20050206090247/http://pages.ivillage.com/generaljim1/theerielackawannalimited/id19.html . February 6, 2005 .
• Web site: President and Fellows of Harvard College . 2004 . 20th century great American business leaders – Ralph Budd . February 22, 2005 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20050205103522/http://www.hbs.edu/leadership/database/leaders/108/ . February 5, 2005 . mdy .
• Web site: Rivanna Chapter, National Railway Historical Society. 2005. This Month in Railroad History – October. October 11, 2005.
• Web site: April 3, 2005 . Significant dates in Canadian railway history . July 12, 2005 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20060125022708/http://www.railways.incanada.net/candate/candate.htm . January 25, 2006 .

Notes and References

1. Web site: Washington, D.C. Railroad History: Railroad History Timeline . Washington D.C. Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society . January 28, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070627200958/http://www.dcnrhs.org/dc_rail_history.htm . June 27, 2007 . dead . mdy .
2. Web site: This Month in Railroad History: January. Rivanna Chapter, National Railway Historical Society. January 15, 2006. January 28, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20110722144342/http://nrhs.avenue.org/histjan.htm. July 22, 2011. dead. mdy-all.
3. Web site: Significant dates in Ottawa railway history . Colin Churcher's Railway Pages . February 23, 2007 . March 15, 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070205234437/http://www.railways.incanada.net/candate/ottawa.htm . February 5, 2007 . dead .
4. Web site: History . https://web.archive.org/web/20230605063443/https://www.tokyometro.jp/lang_en/corporate/profile/history/index.html . 2023-06-05 . 2024-07-13 . tokyometro.jp.
5. Web site: 東京都交通局,交通局について,都営地下鉄 . History of the Transportation Bureau . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240223031608/https://www.kotsu.metro.tokyo.jp/about/ayumi/subway.html . 23 February 2024 . 12 July 2024 . kotsu.metro.tokyo.jp . ja.
6. Web site: History . https://web.archive.org/web/20230605063443/https://www.tokyometro.jp/lang_en/corporate/profile/history/index.html . 2023-06-05 . 2024-07-13 . tokyometro.jp.
7. Web site: History . https://web.archive.org/web/20230605063443/https://www.tokyometro.jp/lang_en/corporate/profile/history/index.html . 2023-06-05 . 2024-07-13 . tokyometro.jp.
8. News: 2 States Agree On Hudson Tubes And Trade Center. Wright. George Cable. January 23, 1962. The New York Times. en-US. 0362-4331. May 1, 2017.
9. Book: Bagwell . Philip Sidney . The beeching era and after: the history of the National Union of Railwaymen . 2023 . Routledge . London . 9781000818215 . 26 August 2024.
10. Web site: Joydeep. Dutta. The WDM-2 loco – a tribute. Indian Railways Fan Club. 2001. December 21, 2009.