1989 in rail transport

This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in 1989.

Events

January events

• January 1 - Three railways in Norway are closed: Kragerøbanen, Numedalsbanen and Valdresbanen.^[1]

March events

• March 1 - The Abbeville-Grimes Railway (a predecessor of the Bay Line Railroad) begins operations between its namesake cities in Alabama.
• March 4 - The Purley station rail crash in Croydon, near London, leaves five dead and 94 injured.
• March 6 - In the Glasgow Bellgrove rail crash, one passenger and the driver of one train are killed when two British Rail Class 303 commuter trains collide just east of Bellgrove station in the East End of Glasgow.

May events

• May 12 - The San Bernardino Train Disaster occurs in San Bernardino, California, leaving six dead.

June events

• June 4 - Ufa train disaster: A natural gas explosion near Ufa, Russia, kills 645 as two trains passing each other throw sparks near a leaky pipeline.

September events

• September 17 - The Grand Canyon Railway officially reopens and carries passengers to the Grand Canyon National Park for the first time since 1968.

October events

• October 29 - The Lexington Avenue, Roosevelt Island and 21st Street stations on the New York City Subway's 63rd Street Extension open.

December events

• December 1 - The Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad is merged into the Missouri Pacific Railroad.
• December - Passenger service over the South Shore Line is taken over by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District.

Unknown date events

FS ETR 450 Pendolino

• The St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad is formed from the sale of Canadian National Railway's Berlin Subdivision.
• Ferrovie dello Stato (Italy) introduces ETR 450 trains between Rome and Milan, the first production Fiat Ferroviaria Pendolinos in regular passenger service.
• Michael R. Haverty is promoted to president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, succeeding W. John Swartz.

Accidents

v · d · eRailway accidents in 1989 (1989) Location and date Purley, England (4 March) • Glasgow, Scotland (6 March) • San Bernardino, CA, United States (12 May) • Ufa, Soviet Union (4 June) 1988 1990

Deaths

November deaths

• November 15 - William N. Deramus III, president of Chicago Great Western Railway 1949-1957, Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad 1957-1961, Kansas City Southern Railway 1961-1973, dies (b. 1915).

December deaths

• December 6 - C.L. Dellums, cofounder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (b. 1900).
• December 26 - Buck Crump, president of Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, 1955–1964 and 1966 (b. 1904).

References

• Bianchi, Curt (May 1995), "By steam to the Grand Canyon", Trains Magazine, p. 38-45.
• New York City Transit (2005), New York City Transit – History and Chronology. Retrieved October 29, 2005.
• Vantuono, William C. (January 2001), Mike Haverty, Railroader of the Year. Retrieved March 25, 2005.