1996 in rail transport
Events
January events
February events
- February 4 – The first two British passenger train operating companies begin operation of their service franchises as part of the privatisation of British Rail: South West Trains and Great Western Trains.
- February 9 - 1996 Secaucus train collision: A southbound New Jersey Transit train bound for Hoboken Terminal collides nearly head-on with a northbound NJ Transit train heading to Suffern. 3 People are killed.
- February 10 – Woodlands Extension of the MRT North South line in Singapore opened, adding six new stations to the current network.
- February 16 – 1996 Maryland train collision: A Chicago bound Amtrak train, the Capitol Limited, collides with a MARC commuter train bound for Washington, killing 11 people.
- February 19 – Approximately 1,000 passengers are trapped in the Channel Tunnel when two Eurostar trains break down due to electronic failures caused by snow and ice.
- February 24 – The three British trainload freight companies, Loadhaul, Mainline Freight and Transrail, are acquired by North & South Railways, a subsidiary of Wisconsin Central, as part of the privatisation of British Rail.
March events
- March 4 – Weyauwega, Wisconsin derailment: A Wisconsin Central freight train derails on a broken switch in Weyauwega, Wisconsin. The derailment forces the evacuation of the entire town until March 20 while fire crews work to control the resulting blaze.
- March 15 – Amtrak selects the "American Flyer" design developed by Bombardier and Alstom, based on the TGV trains of France, as the design model for its Acela rolling stock.
- March 18 – SNCF begins a construction project to renew the track ballast on the Paris-Lyon TGV line; the project is expected to last through 2006.
- March 20
- * In Seoul, South Korea:
- ** A section of Line 5 of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway is opened independently from Banghwa to Kkachisan.
- ** A branch of Line 2 of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway is opened from Sindorim to Kkachisan.
- March 28
- * Muzha Line of Taipei Mass Rapid Transit, the first rapid transit line of Taiwan, opens.
- * Freight services between Higashi-Yokoze freight terminal and Shin-Akitsu on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line in Japan are discontinued.
- March 30
- * Opening of the first section of the Rinkai Line between Shin-Kiba and Tokyo Teleport stations in Tokyo, Japan.
- * In Seoul, South Korea, a branch of Line 5 of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway is opened from Macheon to Gangdong. At this point, trains operate from Wangsinmi to Sangil-dong or Macheon, branching from Gangdong.
- March – Government of Guatemala suspends operation on the entire Ferrocarriles de Guatemala network.
April events
May events
- May 4 – Purchase by the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad of the former Chicago & North Western branch lines from Rapid City, South Dakota to Colony, Wyoming and Crawford, Nebraska becomes effective.
- May 12 – The Green Line of the Chicago Transit Authority elevated and subway rail system, returns to service after a 2-year reconstruction period. Many stations were still incomplete, while six other stations were closed permanently.
- May 17 – Canadian National's Beachburg Subdivision between Pembroke and Nipissing, 126 miles of track which traversed Algonquin Provincial Park, is officially abandoned.
- May 20 – The British railway infrastructure management company, Railtrack, is privatised, being floated on the London Stock Exchange with shares worth 360p.
- May 26 – Further British train operating companies begin operation of their passenger service franchises in England as part of the privatisation of British Rail: Connex South Central and LTS Rail.
June events
July events
August events
September events
October events
November events
- November 18 – Channel Tunnel fire seriously damaging 200 m of the tunnel's lining.
- November 21 – Limited freight service in the Channel Tunnel resumes while construction crews make repairs at the location of the fire three days earlier.
- November 23 – In Seoul, South Korea, Line 8 of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway is opened from Jamsil to Moran.
December events
- December 1 – Norwegian State Railways is split into the Norwegian National Rail Administration and Norges Statsbaner.
- December 4 – Passenger service resumes through the Channel Tunnel.
- December 5
- * BNSF reopens Stampede Pass in Washington and resumes operating freight trains over the line.
- * Canadian National operates its last train of grain to be hauled in 40 ft boxcars; CN SD40s numbered 5256 and 5051 depart Canora, Saskatchewan, with a train of 114 such boxcars bound for Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Thunder Bay, Ontario.
- December 11 – Opening of the second phase of the Osaka Rapid Electric Tramway Line No. 7 between Kyōbashi and Shinsaibashi.
- December 16 – Opening of Malaysia's first metro line, the LRT STAR Line from to in the Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia.
- December 30
- * Dallas Area Rapid Transit opens the first line of Trinity Railway Express between Dallas and Irving, Texas.
- * The Brahmaputra Mail train bombing: a bomb explodes a train travelling in Lower Assam in Eastern India, totally destroying three carriages of the train and derailing six more, killing at least 33 people.
- * In Seoul, South Korea, Line 5 of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway is extended from Wangsimni to Yeouido. This would be the line's fourth expansion in ten months, connecting the two pre-existing sections in the process.
- December 31 – Burlington Northern and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway merge to form BNSF.
Deaths
January deaths
May deaths
- May 9 – Carl Fallberg, cartoonist who created Fiddletown & Copperopolis.