1846 in rail transport

Events

January 9 – Barentin Viaduct on the Paris–Le Havre railway collapses soon after its completion by English engineers.
January 13 – Opening of the Milan–Venice railway's bridge over the Venetian Lagoon between Mestre and Venice in Italy.

June 14 – The first Gare du Nord station in Paris, France, is opened.
June 20 – The Paris–Lille railway is opened in France.
June 22 – The North British Railway is opened to public traffic between Edinburgh and Berwick-upon-Tweed, the first line to cross the border between Scotland and England. Waverley Station is opened.
June 26 – The Great Northern Railway (Great Britain) is authorised by Act of Parliament with powers to construct a direct line from London to York with a loop via Boston, with a capital of £5,600,000, the largest single scheme ever approved by Parliament.

August 11 – First section of Furness Railway in England opens to mineral traffic; passengers are first carried on December 1.
August 18 – Gauge Act passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom rules that new railways in Great Britain should be built to standard gauge and 5 ft 3 inches in Ireland unless otherwise authorised.
August 28 – Railway Mania reaches its zenith as the Parliament of the United Kingdom closes its session having passed 272 Acts setting up new railway companies.