2015 in rail transport explained

Events

January

• January 2 – Reopening of Sri Lanka's Northern Line all the way to its terminus at Kankesanthurai.^[1]
• January 6 – Groundbreaking of the California High-Speed Rail system, indicating sustained construction activity.^[2]

February

• February 3 – The Valhalla train crash, in which a train on Metro-North Railroad's Harlem Line strikes a vehicle at a level crossing in Valhalla, New York, killing six people and injuring 15.^{[3] [4]}
• February 8 – Opening of the South West Rail Link in Sydney.^[5]
• February 14 – Rebuilt Benguela railway reopened throughout.^[6]
• February 24
  • – A Metrolink train on the Ventura County Line strikes a pickup truck at a level crossing in Oxnard, California, injuring 30.^[7]
  • – The first successful 16,156-mile round trip is completed on the world's longest railway line, the Yixin'ou cargo line, which connects Yiwu, China to Madrid, Spain.^[8]

March

• March 1 – Virgin Trains East Coast takes over InterCity East Coast franchise from East Coast^[9]
• March 7 – The Cathedrals Express return charter train from Bristol Temple Meads to Southend East, operated by West Coast Railways, overruns a signal passed at danger at Wootton Bassett Junction on the Great Western Main Line where it has a near miss with a First Great Western service from Swansea to London Paddington.
• March 14
  • – The Hokuriku Shinkansen high-speed route opens from Nagano to Kanazawa, with the corresponding withdrawal of the 160 km/h express service on the Hokuhoku Line.^[10]
  • – The Ueno–Tokyo Line route opens between Ueno and Tokyo Station.^[11]
• March 21 – 2015 Uttar Pradesh train accident: The Indian Railways Janata Express heading towards Varanasi overshoots a signal and derails near Bachhrawan in Uttar Pradesh, northern India, resulting in at least fifty-eight deaths and 150 injuries.

April

• April 1 – Abellio ScotRail takes over the ScotRail franchise from First ScotRail, while the Caledonian Sleeper service is taken over by Serco^{[12] [13]}
• April 3 – Network Rail suspends West Coast Railways' train operating license following the SPAD incident at Wootton Bassett Junction on March 7.^[14]
• April 5 – Reopening of Tri-Rail's Miami Intermodal Center in Miami.^[15]

June

• June 2 – Opening of BRT Sunway Line operated by RapidKL in Subang Jaya.
• June 6 – Opening of the Union Pearson Express, an airport rail link in Toronto.^[16]
• June 27 – SNCF TGV La Poste commits the last ride, making all high-speed freight services ended after more than 30 years operating.

July

• July 1 – Opening of the Ring Rail Line in Vantaa, Finland.^[17]

September

• September 6 – Opening of the Borders Railway along the old Waverley Route.^[18]
• September 11 – Opening of KTM Komuter Northern Sector in Penang, Kedah, Perlis and Northern Perak.^[19]
• September 12 – Opening of the MAX Orange Line in Portland, Oregon, United States.^[20]
• September 13 – New York City Subway 34th Street–Hudson Yards opens to public, after a series of delays.
• September 17 – Opening of the Ashkelon–Beersheba railway.
• September 20 – Opening of one line of the Addis Ababa Light Rail in capital-city of Ethiopia: the first light-rail system to be built in sub-saharan Africa.^{[21] [22]}
• September 26  - Ningbo Rail Transit Line 2 opens connecting Lishe International Airport Station to Qingshuipu Station.

October

• October 16 – Completion of the first phase of Rail Baltica connecting Tallinn, Riga, Kaunas and Warsaw.^[23]
• October 31 - The Sri Petaling Line LRT expands from Sri Petaling to Kinrara, the line's first expansion since 1998.

November

• November 14  - Eckwersheim derailment: A TGV train derails in Alsace while performing commissioning trials on a section of the LGV Est high-speed rail line killing 11.^{[24] [25]}
• November 17  - Aab-e-Gum derailment: The Jaffar Express passenger train traveling from Quetta to Rawalpindi, Pakistan, derails killing 20 and injuring almost a hundred others.^{[26] [27] [28]}

December

• December 11  - The first phase of the Nanning–Kunming High-Speed Railway, connecting Nanning to Baise, China, opens.^[29]
• December 13  - Apperley Bridge railway station reopens, fifty years after the original station was closed.^[30]
• December 27  - Downtown MRT line Stage 2 opens.^[31]
• December 30  - Construction begins on the Ningbo Rail Transit Line 3 (Yinfeng Line) in China.^[32]

Unknown date

• – Conclusion of joint project between Turkey, Iran and Pakistan to build 5,000 km freight link.^[33] Break-of-gauge arrangements to be confirmed.

Notes and References

1. News: Jaffna-KKS railway track roars again . January 3, 2015 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20150104195527/http://www.ft.lk/2015/01/03/jaffna-kks-railway-track-roars-again/ . January 4, 2015 . dead.
2. News: High-Speed Rail Authority Hosts Official Groundbreaking Ceremony . January 6, 2015 . Press release . . hsr.ca.gov . https://web.archive.org/web/20150122062647/http://hsr.ca.gov/docs/newsroom/jan_2015_Groundbreaking_Press_Rel010615.pdf . January 22, 2015.
3. News: Trott. Bill. Heavey. Susan. Cuomo says death toll in commuter train accident revised to six. Reuters. 4 February 2015. 4 February 2015.
4. News: Santora. Marc. Flegenheimer. Matt. New York Times. Investigation Underway in Metro-North Train Crash. February 4, 2015. February 4, 2015.
5. Web site: South West Rail Link . Transport for NSW . New South Wales Government . 2012-11-13 . 2013-01-02 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120718043920/http://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/projects-southwestraillink . 2012-07-18 .
6. Web site: Three presidents inaugurate rebuilt Benguela Railway . February 16, 2015 . Railway Gazette International.
7. News: Photos: Metrolink Commuter Train Derails in Oxnard. ABC News. February 24, 2015. KABC-TV.
8. Web site: China to Spain cargo train: Successful first 16,156-mile round trip on world's longest railway brings promise of increased trade . https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/china-to-spain-cargo-train-successful-first-16156mile-round-trip-on-worlds-longest-railway-brings-promise-of-increased-trade-10067895.html . 2022-05-01 . subscription . live. The Independent. Alistair . Dawber . February 24, 2015.
9. Stagecoach/Virgin bid wins East Coast franchise The Railway Magazine issue 1366 January 2015 page 6
10. News: Hokuriku Shinkansen Line opens for service, linking Tokyo and Kanazawa . March 14, 2015 . . . May 21, 2020.
11. Web site: Cross-Tokyo link inaugurated . March 16, 2015 . . May 21, 2020.
12. https://web.archive.org/web/20160405230829/http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/abellio-awarded-scotrail-franchise.html Abellio awarded ScotRail franchise
13. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/serco-awarded-contract-to-run-the-famous-caledonian-sleeper-railway-line-9447845.html Serco awarded contract to run the famous Caledonian Sleeper railway line
14. Web site: West Coast Railways track access suspended . April 2, 2015 . . May 18, 2020.
15. Web site: New Tri-Rail Miami International Airport Station Opens April 5 . April 3, 2015 . tri-rail.com . . https://web.archive.org/web/20150403234739/http://www.tri-rail.com/miami-airport-station . April 3, 2015 . dead.
16. Web site: Union Pearson Express to Launch June 6 . April 22, 2015 . . news.ontario.ca . May 23, 2020.
17. Web site: Ring Rail Line opening day festivities on Wednesday 1 July . June 26, 2015 . . hsl.fi . May 18, 2020.
18. The long wait is finally over as £296m Borders Railway opens. Richard. Clinnick. Rail. 783. 16–29 September 2015. 6–7.
19. News: Northern folks to enjoy new mode of transportation . The Star . 11 September 2015 . 6 January 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170827085852/http://www.thestar.com.my/videos/2015/09/11/northern-folks-to-enjoy-new-mode-of-transportation/ . 27 August 2017 . dead .
20. News: Njus . Elliot . September 12, 2015 . The wait's over: TriMet's Orange Line, Tilikum Crossing up and running . . September 12, 2015.
21. News: Sub-Saharan Africa gets its first metro . The Economist . 17 September 2015 . 23 September 2015.
22. News: Ethiopia: Addis Light Rail Eases Transportation Problem . AllAfrica . 22 September 2015 . 13 October 2015 .
23. News: Latvia to Begin Constructing Rail Baltica. RZD-Partner Portal. 18 April 2008. 2018-01-06. https://archive.today/20120909072730/http://www.rzd-partner.com/news/2008/04/18/322781.html. 2012-09-09. dead.
24. News: French TGV high-speed train derails near Strasbourg. BBC News. 2015-11-14. 2015-11-14.
25. News: Accident de la rame d'essai de TGV: 10 morts, douze blessés dans un état grave, cinq personnes recherchées, numéro vert mis en place. Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace. 2015-11-14. Bach. Christian. Poivret. Aurélien.
26. News: Death toll from Jaffar Express accident climbs to 19. Dawn. November 18, 2015. AFP. Syed Ali Shah. December 13, 2015.
27. News: Two killed as train derails in Pakistan. Daiji World. November 17, 2015. December 13, 2015.
28. News: 20 die as train derails in Pakistan. New Kerala. November 17, 2015. December 13, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151119115202/http://www.newkerala.com/news/2015/fullnews-149264.html. November 19, 2015. dead. mdy-all.
29. News: 南昆客专南百段开通 南宁-百色动车二等票82.5元 . Nankun Passenger Train South Section opened Nanning-Baise EMU second-class ticket 82.5 yuan . Guangxi News Network . gxnews.com.cn . December 11, 2015 . Chinese . https://web.archive.org/web/20171107030931/http://news.gxnews.com.cn/staticpages/20151211/newgx5669fee0-14073930.shtml . November 7, 2017 . dead.
30. Web site: Apperley Bridge's new railway station opens. December 13, 2015. BBC News. December 13, 2015.
31. Web site: Downtown Line 2 draws crowds and curious commuters on opening day. hermesauto. 2015-12-27. The Straits Times. en. 2019-04-04.
32. Web site: 宁波-奉化城际铁路开工 对接轨道交通3号线. Ningbo–Fenghua Intercity Railway begins construction and is scheduled to open in June 2019. CNNB. December 30, 2015. January 1, 2016. Chinese.
33. Web site: Pakistan and Turkey Agree to Build Freight Rail Link. Railway-technology.com. 2010-01-26. 2010-07-11.