1998_in_rail_transport

1998 in rail transport

This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in 1998.

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 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 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.^[1]

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

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.^[2]
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.