1973 in rail transport
Encyclopedia
January events
- January 27 – MBTAMBTA Commuter RailThe MBTA Commuter Rail serves as the regional rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, in the United States. It is operated under contract by the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company a joint partnership of Veolia Transportation, Bombardier Transportation and Alternate...
purchases several rail lines in New EnglandNew EnglandNew England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
from Penn Central to form the basis of the new commuter system's network.
February events
- February 26 – Chessie SystemChessie SystemChessie System, Inc. was a holding company that owned the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway , the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad , the Western Maryland Railway , and several smaller carriers. It was incorporated in Virginia on February 26, 1973, and it acquired the C&O on June 15...
is incorporated to become the parent corporation of a combined B&OBaltimore and Ohio RailroadThe Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
/C&O/WM railroad system.
March events
- March 30 – TorontoTorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
's Yonge Subway is extended to York Mills StationYork Mills (TTC)York Mills is a station on the Yonge–University–Spadina line of the subway system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 4015 Yonge Street at Wilson Avenue/York Mills Road...
.
June events
- June 3 – The Norwegian State RailwaysNorwegian State Railways (1883–1996)The Norwegian State Railways was a state-owned railway company that operated most of the railway network in Norway. The government agency was created in 1883 to oversee the construction and operation of all state-owned railways in Norway...
open Lieråsen TunnelLieråsen TunnelLieråsen Tunnel is a railway tunnel on Drammenbanen between Asker Station and Lier Station in Norway. The 10,723 m long tunnel was opened in 1973 and was the longest railway tunnel in the country until Romeriksporten was opened in 1999....
on the Drammen
Line between Asker
Asker Station
Asker is a railway station located in downtown Asker in Akershus, Norway. The station serves as the main public transportation hub for the municipalities located around the Asker Line, the Drammen Line and the Spikkestad Line. The station was opened with the Drammen Line in 1872...
and Lier
Lier Station
Lier Station is a railway station located at the village of Lier, Norway on the railway Drammen Line. The station is served by commuter trains 440 and 450 with half hour headway by Norges Statsbaner.-History:...
(10.7 km (6.6 mi)).
October events
- October 1 – British RailBritish RailBritish Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
opens Selby deviation of East Coast Main LineEast Coast Main LineThe East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
south of YorkYorkYork is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, a 22.8 km (14.2 mi) new line built to avoid speed restrictions as a result of potential subsidenceSubsidenceSubsidence is the motion of a surface as it shifts downward relative to a datum such as sea-level. The opposite of subsidence is uplift, which results in an increase in elevation...
induced by coal miningCoal miningThe goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
in the SelbySelbySelby is a town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Situated south of the city of York, along the course of the River Ouse, Selby is the largest and, with a population of 13,012, most populous settlement of the wider Selby local government district.Historically a part of the West Riding...
area.
December events
- December 19 - The Ealing rail crashEaling rail crashThe Ealing rail crash was an accident on the English railway system that occurred on 19 December 1973. The 17:18 express train from London Paddington to Oxford—with approximately 650 passengers on board—was derailed while travelling at around between Ealing Broadway and West Ealing...
occurred when an express train from London Paddington to OxfordOxfordThe city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
derailed at speed between Ealing Broadway and West EalingWest EalingWest Ealing is a place in the London Borough of Ealing in west London.-History:West Ealing in its present form is less than 100 years old....
. Ten passengers were killed and 94 were injured
Unknown date events
- John W. Barriger IIIJohn W. Barriger IIIJohn Walker Barriger III was an American railroad executive; he successively led the Monon Railroad, Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad, Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad and the Boston and Maine Railroad...
becomes president of the Boston and Maine RailroadBoston and Maine RailroadThe Boston and Maine Corporation , known as the Boston and Maine Railroad until 1964, was the dominant railroad of the northern New England region of the United States for a century...
.