1971 in rail transport

This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in 1971.

Events

February events

• February 9 - A Zurich-bound TEE train derails at Aitrang, Germany, due to excess speed and is hit by a railbus. 28 die and 42 are injured.

March events

• March 4 - A local train collides with a mini truck at a level crossing on the Fujikyu line, Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi, Japan, killing at least 179 people and injuring 6100.

April events

• April 30 - On the eve of Amtrak's assumption of American passenger train operations, Union Pacific Railroad and Chicago and North Western Railway end the City of Los Angeles and City of Denver trains, and the United States Post Office Department cancels all but one of the eight remaining Railway Mail Service routes; the final route served Washington, D.C., to New York City.^[1]

May events

• May 1 - Amtrak begins operations of most intercity passenger train service in the United States.
• May 27 - Dahlerau train disaster: A special train full of schoolchildren collides with a freight train in Dahlerau, West Germany, on the line between Wuppertal and Radevormwald due to a misunderstanding of signals. 46 die and 25 are injured, making this the worst rail accident in West Germany during Deutsche Bundesbahn times.

July events

• July 21 - A fast train from Basel to Copenhagen derails due to a technical failure in the Class 103 engine; 23 die and 121 are injured.
• July 30 - Opening of Pfaffenberg-Zwenberg Bridge on Tauern Railway Line in Austria, the world's longest concrete arch, with a span of 200 m (660 ft).^[2]
• July 31 - The Monon Railroad is merged into the Louisville and Nashville Railroad.

September events

• September 10 - British Columbia Premier W.A.C. Bennett leads the ceremony to open the Pacific Great Eastern Railway's Fort Nelson Subdivision between Fort St. John and Fort Nelson, British Columbia.
• September - Deutsche Bundesbahn introduces Inter-City express train network in Germany.

October events

• October 2 - Preserved ex-Great Western Railway steam locomotive No. 6000 King George V inaugurates a series of special trains on British Rail, the first steam allowed on the main line for several years.^[3]
• October 26 - Last train worked by steam on New Zealand Railways, the South Island Limited, hauled by J^A class.

November events

• November - Construction begins on the Tōhoku Shinkansen line in Japan.

December events

• December 6 - The first Auto Train operates under the control of the Auto-Train Corporation.

Unknown date events

• United States Federal Railroad Administration opens High Speed Ground Test Center, Pueblo, Colorado.

Accidents

v d e Railway accidents in 1971 (1971) Location and date Vicuña, Chile (11 March) • Dahlerau, Germany (27 May) 1970 1972

Births

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Deaths

Unknown date deaths

• W. Graham Claytor, president of Southern Railway (b. 1886).

References

1. ^ "The Post Office Role in U.S. Development: Railway Mail Service". History of the United States Post Office. http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blmailus2c.htm. Retrieved 2006-04-26. 
2. ^ Balkwill, Richard; Marshall, John (1993). The Guinness Book of Railway Facts and Feats (6th ed.). Enfield: Guinness Publishing. ISBN 978-0-85112-707-1. 
3. ^ Wood, G. C. (1972). 6000 King George V – a chronology. Hereford: 6000 Locomotive Association.