1998 in rail transport

Events

February events

• February 14 - A freight train passing through Yaounde, Cameroon, collides with another freight; some tank cars carrying fuel oil are ruptured in the derailment. The oil is ignited by a lit cigarette causing a flash fire and an explosion when the flames reach the tank cars, killing 120 people. See: Yaounde train explosion.
• February 20 - The Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad files an application with the Surface Transportation Board to build new railroad track to haul coal from the Powder River Basin in Wyoming.

April events

• April 1 - British trainload freight operator EWS takes over rail operations of National Power.
• April 27 - Spain's Madrid Metro opens the section between Esperanza and Mar de Cristal on Line 4.

June events

• June 3 - The Eschede train disaster, the worst railroad accident in German history, occurs when a wheel on the high speed InterCityExpress breaks; the derailed train's forward momentum caused it to slam into a bridge pier which increased the damage to the train and caused a higher injury toll than would otherwise have occurred.
• June 6 - The majority of Conrail's railroad assets are split between CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern.
• June 19 - The government of Panama relinquishes control of the Panama Railway to the Panama Canal Railway Company, a subsidiary of Kansas City Southern.
• June 23 - Road-rail (dual gauge) Jamuna bridge opened, connecting the previously isolated east and west networks of Bangladesh Railway.

September events

• September - Construction begins to convert the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel in Alaska from rail traffic only to combined rail and highway traffic.

October events

• October 8 - Norways first high-speed railway, Gardermobanen between Oslo S via Oslo Airport, Gardermoen to Eidsvoll, opens.
• October 18 - The Altamont Commuter Express begins regional commuter rail service between Stockton in California's Central Valley and San Jose in the San Francisco Bay Area.

November events

• November 9 - The St. Thomas and Eastern Railway begins operations on a former Canadian National Railway branch line between St. Thomas and Delhi, Ontario.
• November 20 - The Okanagan Valley Railway begins operations on the former Canadian Pacific Railway branch between Sicamous and Kelowna, British Columbia.

December events

• December - Railways in Germany are attacked by the extortionist Klaus-Peter Sabotta. An InterCity Express line is sabotaged (but the train does not derail), while a freight train is derailed near Anklam.
• December 5 - Trinity Railway Express in Texas adds Saturday train schedules to its timetables and begins operating the first regular Saturday trains.
• December 10 - The Surface Transportation Board gives preliminary approval to Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad's application to build into the Powder River Basin, pending completion of an Environmental Impact Statement.

Unknown date events

• Canadian National Railway acquires the Illinois Central, giving the CN direct access to the Gulf of Mexico port of New Orleans, Louisiana.
• The former Lima Locomotive Works erecting shed and heavy Shay locomotive shops are razed.

Deaths

September deaths

• September 9 - James B. McCahey, Jr., president of Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad (b. 1920).

Awards

North America

• 1998 Railroader of the Year: David R. Goode (NS)
• 1998 Regional Railroad of the Year: Texas Mexican Railway
• 1998 Short Line Railroad of the Year: St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad

References

• Colin Churcher's Railway Pages (August 16 2005), Significant dates in Canadian railway history. Retrieved November 8 and November 20 2005.