April 2009 in rail transport

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This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in April 2009.

Events

• Hefei-Wuhan Passenger Railway opens for service in China
• Shijiazhuang-Taiyuan Passenger Railway opens for service in China

April 28

• – Officials in China hold opening ceremonies for the "Expo Journey of Harmony" railway. The trains connecting Shanghai and Beijing South stations are intended to provide transportation to the Shanghai Expo and will use the colorful name until October 31, 2010. It is estimated that more than 1.3 million passengers will ride these trains.^[1]

April 29

• – Six people are killed and eleven others are injured in Chennai when an unauthorized person takes control of and drives a suburban passenger train a distance of 3.5 miles (5.6 km) and crashes it into a freight train near Vyasarpadi Jeeva station. The electric multiple unit passenger train had been parked at a station in preparation for its regular departure when the unauthorized person boarded and started it. At the time of the collision, the passenger train was reported to have been traveling at 91 km/h (57 mph). The driver and crew of the freight train as well as passengers aboard the passenger train were among the injured.^[2]
• – Canadian National Railway appoints Luc Jobin as the railroad's new chief financial officer to succeed Claude Mongeau who will become the railroad's president and CEO on January 1, 2010. Jobin, formerly vice president of Power Corporation of Canada, will begin as CFO effective June 1, 2009. Until January, Mongeau will be in training to learn the details of CN's network and current operations systemwide.^[3]
• – An estimated 8,000 of Căile Ferate Române (Romanian Railways) employees participate in a march in Bucharest to protest large layoffs announced by the government earlier in 2009. The march proceeded from Gara de Nord, the main railway station in Bucharest, to the government's headquarters, where the march leaders delivered a letter of protest to government officials; the march then returned to the station. The proposed cutbacks could lead to as many as 12,000 jobs eliminated out of the railway's total estimated 80,000 jobs.^[4]
• – At a press conference following Cabinet meetings, Jamaican transport secretary Mike Henry announces that an economic impact study will begin on plans for the future of Jamaican Railways lines. The study would investigate reusing the railway lines that formerly hauled bauxite now that the mining companies are scaling back their use of the lines. An interim plan for the railway's use is expected to be revealed in the first week of May 2009.^[5]
• – The United States Senate confirms the nomination of Joe Szabo to become the new Administrator for the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). Szabo, who succeeds Joseph H. Boardman, the recently appointed president of Amtrak, is the first FRA Administrator to be chosen from the ranks of railroad employment. Szabo's first railroad job began in 1976 with the Illinois Central Railroad as a switchman; he most recently served as Illinois state legislative director for the United Transportation Union (UTU). An informal swearing-in ceremony is expected to be held on May 5 to enable Szabo to begin work immediately with an official ceremony to be scheduled at a future date.^[6][7]

April 30

• – British transport secretary Geoff Hoon presides over ceremonies to officially open Corby railway station following a £9 million renovation. Preliminary service at the station began on February 23, 2009, with East Midlands Trains operating one train per day; the station now serves hourly passenger trains between Corby and London.^[8]

References

1. ""Expo Journey of Harmony" Railway initiated in Shanghai". Xinhua. April 30, 2009. Retrieved April 30, 2009.
2. "Six Killed In Bizarre Railroad Mishap In India". RTTNews. April 29, 2009. Retrieved April 30, 2009.
3. Associated Press (April 29, 2009). "CN names replacement for promoted CFO". Forbes.com. Retrieved April 30, 2009.
4. Associated Press (April 29, 2009). "Thousands of railway workers in Romania protest". Taiwan News. Retrieved April 30, 2009.
5. "Henry still pushing railway service". RadioJamaica.com. April 29, 2009. Retrieved April 30, 2009.
6. Progressive Railroading (April 30, 2009). "Senate confirms Szabo's nomination as FRA administrator". Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
7. "Senate confirms UTU's Szabo to FRA". UTU News (United Transportation Union). April 29, 2009. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
8. "New Corby railway station opened by transport secretary". The Career Engineer. April 30, 2009. Retrieved April 30, 2009.