2012 in rail transport explained

Events

January

• 9 January – Shenyang Metro Line 2 opened.
• 14 January – The Marina Bay Extension of the Circle MRT line in Singapore opens for service.^[1]

February

• 4 February – National Express East Anglia's passenger service franchise expires; from the following day services are taken over by Abellio Greater Anglia.
• 22 February – Buenos Aires rail disaster: A buffer stop collision at Once railway station kills 51.

March

• 3 March – Szczekociny rail crash: A head-on collision in Poland kills 16.
• 25 March – The North Shore Connector extension of the Pittsburgh Light Rail system opens.

April

• 1 April
  • The Towada Kankō Electric Railway Line is abolished, ending 89 years of service between Misawa and Towadashi Stations in Aomori Prefecture.^[2]
  • The Yashiro Line on the Nagano Electric Railway is abolished in Nagano Prefecture after 89 years of operation.^[3]
• 13 April – The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (San Francisco Bay Area) grants the Downtown San Francisco Extension top priority for federal funding. This would extend the Caltrain line 1.3miles from the current terminus at 4th & King (close to AT&T Park) to Downtown San Francisco's Transbay Transit Center and be used by California High-Speed Rail as its terminal.^[4] the extension does not have a planned completion.
• 23 April – Boston's MBTA Commuter Rail Providence/Stoughton Line extension to Wickford Junction (MBTA station) opens.
• 28 April
  • – Open-access operator Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori begins operation of its .italo high-speed trains.^[5]
  • – The first phase of Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Expo Line opens for service. The line runs from downtown LA to Culver City. The next phase of the project will extend the line to Santa Monica.^[6]
  • – Suzhou Metro opens.
• 30 April – Oakton-Skokie station on the Chicago Transit Authority's Yellow Line opens.

May

• 27 May – GoRail starts operating on Tallinn–Saint Petersburg line after a four-year hiatus.^[7]

June

• 13 June – The Manchester Metrolink light rail system opens the first phase of its Oldham & Rochdale Line over the former Oldham Loop Line to a temporary terminus at Oldham Mumps.^[8]
• 15 June – The Sacramento Regional Transit Light Rail Green Line phase 1 to River District opens. A future extension is planned to extend this line to the Sacramento International Airport but is not expected to be completed until sometime during the 2020s.^{[9] [10]}
• 28 June – Kunming Metro opens.

July

• 1 July – Tianjin Metro Line 2 opens.
• 28 July – Construction was completed and service commencing on the AirportLink line of the Miami Metrorail, extending service to Miami International Airport via the Miami Intermodal Center^[11]

August

• 27 August – Construction is completed on the north east extension of Calgary Alberta's light rail transit system, the C-Train. The extension has added 2 new stations in northeast Calgary at Martindale and Saddletowne, adding several kilometers of track to the system.
• 31 August – Sofia Metro Line 2 begins service.

September

• 16 September – Chengdu Metro Line 2 opens.
• 22 September – The 2001-opened Portland Streetcar system, in Portland, Oregon, inaugurates service on a second line, the "Central Loop" (or CL Line), serving the central east side.^[12]
• 28 September – Phase 1 of Chongqing Rail Transit's Line 6, connecting Wulidian to Kangzhuang, opens.^[13]

October

• 1 October
  • Tianjin Metro Line 3 opens.
  • The Nikšić–Podgorica railway reopens to passengers after reconstruction and electrification.
• 3 October – The UK Department for Transport announces cancellation and rerunning of the InterCity West Coast passenger service franchise bidding process after discovering significant technical flaws in its assessment, reversing an August decision to award it to FirstGroup and following challenges by incumbent operator Virgin Trains.^[14]
• 8 October – Seattle's Sounder commuter rail south line extension to South Tacoma and Lakewood opens.^[15]
• 27 October – In Seoul, Line 7 of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway is extended from Onsu to Bupyeong-gu Office (10.3km (06.4miles)).^[16]
• 29 October – Dar es Salaam commuter rail service commences.^[17]

November

• 24 November – Hangzhou Metro Line 3 opens.

December

• 1 December – The Harbin–Dalian High-Speed Railway opens for service.^[18]
• 3 December – Dallas Area Rapid Transit opens extensions on two lines: the Orange Line carrying passengers to Belt Line,^[19] and the Blue Line extension to the Downtown Rowlett Station.^[19]
• 10 December
  • – Opening of West Line of the Calgary C-Train, the system's first new line in 25 years.
  • – Utah Transit Authority's FrontRunner extends service south from Salt Lake City to Provo.^[20]
• 15 December – Automation of Paris Métro Line 1 reaches 100%. This is the second automated line after Line 14.
• 16 December – The Manchester Metrolink light rail system extends its Oldham & Rochdale Line to Shaw & Crompton.^[21]
• 18 December – Paris Métro Line 12 is extended from Porte de la Chapelle to Front Populaire.
• 21 December – Inauguration of the reopened Nigerian Railway Corporation's Lagos–Kano railway line in Nigeria, rebuilt by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation and Costain West Africa.^{[22] [23]}
• 26 December – The Beijing-Zhengzhou section of the Beijing–Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong High-Speed Railway is scheduled to open, completing the HSR connection from Beijing to Guangzhou and Shenzhen.^{[24] [25]}

Deaths

• 18 March – Alan Pegler, British railway preservationist, dies (b. 1920).
• 22 July – Ding Guangen, Minister of Railways for China 1985–1988, dies (b. 1929).
• 5 August – Benjamin W. Heineman, president of Chicago and North Western Railway 1956–1972, dies (b. 1914).
• 4 October – Bernard Holden, president of Bluebell Railway, dies (b. 1908).

Industry awards

Japan

Awards presented by the Japan Railfan Club

• 2012 Blue Ribbon Award: JR East E5 Series Shinkansen EMU
• 2012 Laurel Prize: JR Freight Class HD300-900 hybrid locomotive

See also

• List of rail accidents (2010–2019)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Bayfront, Marina Bay stations on CCL to begin soon. Hetty. Musfirah. channelnewsasia.com. 28 November 2011. 2 January 2013. 15 February 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120215092911/http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1168024/1/.html. dead.
2. News: April 1, 2012 . 十和田観光電鉄線：惜別 歴史刻み廃止 運行８９年、三沢駅で式典 ／青森 . Towada Kankō Electric Railway Line: Ending of services after 89 years, ceremony at Misawa Station / Aomori . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120403185418/http://mainichi.jp/area/aomori/news/20120401ddlk02040037000c.html . April 3, 2012 . April 1, 2012 . . Japanese.
3. Web site: 2 April 2012 . ja:長野電鉄屋代線が廃止される . Nagano Electric Railway Yashiro Line Closes . http://railf.jp/news/2012/04/02/143100.html . 5 April 2012 . Japan Railfan Magazine Online . Koyusha Co., Ltd. . Japanese . Japan.
4. News: Caltrain downtown extension gets top billing for top dollar. Cabanatuan. Michael. 16 April 2012. San Francisco Chronicle. 2 January 2013.
5. News: Italo supera il muro dei 2 milioni di passeggeri nel 2012. 2013-02-21. ntvspa.it. 2013-01-07. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130330182706/http://www.ntvspa.it/it/ntv/pagine/1403/-Italo-supera-il-muro-dei-2-milioni-di-passeggeri-nel-2012.html. 2013-03-30.
6. Hymon. Steve. More on the Expo Line opening. The Source. 23 March 2012.
7. News: Kuul. Marek. Gorail taasavas Tallinna-Peterburi rongiliini. 27 May 2012. ERR. 27 May 2012. Estonian.
8. Web site: Metrolink line to Oldham opens today . 13 June 2012 . 2 January 2013 . Transport for Greater Manchester .
9. Web site: Green Line to the River District. Sacramento Regional Transit District. 25 March 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120229131156/http://www.sacrt.com/dna/mos-1/default.html. 29 February 2012. dead.
10. Web site: Sacramento Green Line Open. 16 June 2012. Light Rail Transit Association. 19 August 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20160307053458/http://www.lrta.org/news/12/news1211.html. 7 March 2016. dead.
11. Web site: Miami-Dade Transit. Miami-Dade Transit. AirportLink Schedule. 16 June 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110611141445/http://www.miamidade.gov/transit/improve_airport_schedule.asp. 11 June 2011. dead. dmy-all.
12. News: Redden. Jim. Track Town heads east: Streetcar's new eastside loop already spurring development. Portland Tribune. 20 September 2012. 14 August 2013. 1 August 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180801190552/https://portlandtribune.com/pt/9-news/115470-track-town-heads-east. dead.
13. Web site: Part of Light Rail Line 6 opens . 30 September 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131217082453/http://english.cqnews.net/html/2012-09/28/content_20108409.htm . 17 December 2013 . dead.
14. West Coast Main Line franchise competition cancelled. 3 October 2012. Department for Transport. 2 January 2013.
15. News: Lakewood area celebrates arrival of Sounder service. Seattle Times. Sandi. Sandi Doughton. Doughton. 6 October 2012. 6 December 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130520121715/http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2019363197_sounder07m.html. 20 May 2013.
16. Web site: 개요 및 연혁 . Overview and History . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240205120552/http://www.seoulmetro.co.kr/kr/page.do?menuIdx=512 . 5 February 2024 . 12 July 2024 . seoulmetro.co.kr . ko.
17. News: Masha. Marycelina. 2012-10-29. Dar commuter trains easing transport nightmares. Daily News. Tanzania. 2022-07-23. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20131204231951/http://www.dailynews.co.tz/index.php/features/popular-features/17508-dar-es-salaam-commuter-trains-easing-transport-nightmares-helping-shape-passenger-dignity. 2013-12-04.
18. News: World's fastest railway in frigid regions starts operation. English.news.cn. 1 December 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121204035906/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/sci/2012-12/01/c_132011647.htm. dead. 4 December 2012. 1 December 2012.
19. Web site: Big day for DART as routes are extended to Rowlett, D/FW Airport Dallasnews.com - News for Dallas, Texas - The Dallas Morning News. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060520/http://www.dallasnews.com/news/transportation/20121203-dart-blue-line-launches-long-awaited-rail-service-in-rowlett.ece. 2013-09-21.
20. News: Lee Davidson . Lee Davidson . FrontRunner debut turns a bit bumpy . 6 October 2020 . . 11 December 2012.
21. News: Kirby . Dean . Shaw and Crompton Metrolink trams start this Sunday . 2 January 2013 . . 12 December 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121215171525/http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1595998_shaw-and-crompton-metrolink-trams-start-this-sunday . 15 December 2012 .
22. Web site: Nigeria railroad project connects 2 major cities. Yinka. Ibukun. The Big Story. Associated Press. 22 December 2012. 16 February 2013. 29 December 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121229133257/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/nigeria-railroad-project-connects-2-major-cities. dead.
23. Web site: Nigeria reopened railway tracks connecting Lagos to Kano. Nile TV International. 23 December 2012. 16 February 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20140304151207/http://www.nileinternational.net/full_story.php?ID=70353. 4 March 2014. dead.
24. News: 京广高铁拟12月下旬开通届时广州直达北京最快约8小时，二等座票价估计近千元 . Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed railway to be opened in late December . 21 November 2011 . 6 December 2012 . Xinxi Shibao (信息时报) . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140106151840/http://news.huochepiao.com/2012-11/201211218210211.htm . 6 January 2014 .
25. News: Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed line to open on 26 December. Stephen. Chen. 15 December 2012. 18 December 2012. South China Morning Post.