1985 in rail transport
Encyclopedia
January events
- January 5 - At ceremonies held in NenanaNenana, AlaskaNenana is a Home Rule City in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area of the Unorganized Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. Nenana lies at the juncture of the Nenana River and the Tanana River. The population was 402 at the 2000 census. "Nenana" means 'a good place to camp between two rivers.'-History...
and Seward, AlaskaSeward, AlaskaSeward is a city in Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 3,016....
, ownership of the Alaska RailroadAlaska RailroadThe Alaska Railroad is a Class II railroad which extends from Seward and Whittier, in the south of the state of Alaska, in the United States, to Fairbanks , and beyond to Eielson Air Force Base and Fort Wainwright in the interior of that state...
is officially transferred to the U.S. stateU.S. stateA U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of AlaskaAlaskaAlaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. - January 14 - Awash rail disaster killed 428 in AwashAwashAwash is a market town in central Ethiopia. Located in Administrative Zone 3 of the Afar Region, above a gorge on the Awash River, after which the town is named, the town lies on the Addis Ababa - Djibouti Railway, which crosses the gorge by a bridge there...
, EthiopiaEthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
.
February events
- February 21 - The Soo LineSoo Line RailroadThe Soo Line Railroad is the primary United States railroad subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway , controlled through the Soo Line Corporation, and one of seven U.S. Class I railroads. Although it is named for the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste...
acquires the Milwaukee Road and attempts to operate it as a subsidiary railroad.
March events
- March - The Tōhoku ShinkansenTohoku ShinkansenThe is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen rail line, connecting Tokyo with Aomori in Aomori Prefecture for a total length of 674 km, Japan's longest Shinkansen line. It runs through the more sparsely populated Tōhoku region of Japan's main island Honshu. It has two spur lines, Yamagata...
line in JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
is extended from Omiya StationOmiya Station (Saitama)is a railway station in Ōmiya-ku, Saitama, Japan. It is a major interchange station for the East Japan Railway Company .-JR East:* Tōhoku Shinkansen* Akita Shinkansen* Yamagata Shinkansen* Jōetsu Shinkansen* Nagano Shinkansen...
to Ueno StationUeno Stationis a major railway station inTokyo's Taitō ward. It is the station used to reach the Ueno district and Ueno Park -- which contains Tokyo National Museum, The National Museum of Western Art, Ueno Zoo, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and other famous cultural facilities...
, near TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. - March 25 - A methane gas explosion in Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
will eventually lead to the abandonment of Red LineLACMTA Red LineThe Red Line is a subway line running between Downtown Los Angeles via the districts of Hollywood and Mid-Wilshire to North Hollywood within Los Angeles where it connects with the Metroliner Orange line service for stations to the Warner Center in Woodland Hills.The red line, which is one of five...
construction along the city's most important corridor, Wilshire BoulevardWilshire BoulevardWilshire Boulevard is one of the principal east-west arterial roads in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was named for Henry Gaylord Wilshire , an Ohio native who made and lost fortunes in real estate, farming, and gold mining. Henry Wilshire initiated what was to become Wilshire...
. The subway will not be seriously looked at again for almost 20 years.
April events
- April 30 - Canadian National RailwayCanadian National RailwayThe Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
and Canadian Pacific RailwayCanadian Pacific RailwayThe Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
assume joint operations of southern OntarioOntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
's Canada Southern RailwayCanada Southern RailwayThe Canada Southern Railway was a railway in southern Ontario, Canada, founded on February 28, 1868 as the Erie and Niagara Extension Railway. It adopted the Canada Southern Railway name on December 24, 1869. In 1904 the railway was leased to the Michigan Central Railroad for 99 years; in 1929 it...
line.
June events
- June 11 - The HaBonim disasterHaBonim disasterThe HaBonim disaster, which occurred on June 11, 1985, was an accident in which a train crashed into a bus, transporting students from the Y.H. Brenner middle school in Petach Tikva on their annual field trip, near Moshav HaBonim. 22 people were killed: 19 students, a teacher, the bus driver, and a...
was an accident in which a train crashed into a bus near HaBonim, IsraelHaBonim, IsraelHaBonim is a moshav shitufi in northern Israel. Located 5 km south of Atlit and 3 km north of Kibbutz Nahsholim, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof HaCarmel Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 259....
killing 22 people. - June 27 - The Harbour Island People MoverHarbour Island People MoverThe Harbour Island People Mover was an automated guideway transit people mover service used to carry visitors between Downtown Tampa and Harbour Island across the Garrison Channel in Tampa, Florida, United States. Privately owned but operated by the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority ,...
commences service between Downtown TampaDowntown TampaImage:Tampa_Skyline.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Downtown Tampa looking from the Hillsborough Riverpoly 2403 537 2441 500 2488 483 2516 455 2566 439 2597 410 2649 390 2682 358 2803 315 2949 342 2956 362 3068 383 3074 406 3202 431 3204 447 3332 473 3350 484 3485 1616 2446 1587 Wachovia Centerpoly 1745 1216...
and Harbour IslandHarbour Island (Tampa), FloridaHarbour Island is an island neighborhood within the city limits of Tampa, Florida and the sub-district within Downtown Tampa. The ZIP Code serving the area is 33602.-Geography:...
in TampaTâmpaTâmpa may refer to several villages in Romania:* Tâmpa, a village in Băcia Commune, Hunedoara County* Tâmpa, a village in Miercurea Nirajului, Mureş County* Tâmpa, a mountain in Braşov city...
, FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, United States.
September events
- September - China Railway opens the world's longest railway bridge at this date, carrying the HezeHezeHeze is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. The westernmost prefecture-level city in Shandong, it borders Jining to the east and the provinces of Henan and Anhui to the west and south respectively. The old name of Heze was Caozhou and now a part...
–XinxiangXinxiangXinxiang is a prefecture-level city in northern Henan province, People's Republic of China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to its southwest, Kaifeng to its southeast, Hebi and Anyang to its north, Jiaozuo to its west, and the provinces of Shanxi and Shandong to its northwest and...
line over the Yellow RiverYellow RiverThe Yellow River or Huang He, formerly known as the Hwang Ho, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into...
(10.3 km (6.4 mi)).
Unknown date events
- Massachusetts Bay Transportation AuthorityMassachusetts Bay Transportation AuthorityThe Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, often referred to as the MBTA or simply The T, is the public operator of most bus, subway, commuter rail and ferry systems in the greater Boston, Massachusetts, area. Officially a "body politic and corporate, and a political subdivision" of the...
expands rail service on the Red LineRed Line (MBTA)The Red Line is a rapid transit line operated by the MBTA running roughly north-south through Boston, Massachusetts into neighboring communities. The line begins west of Boston, in Cambridge, Massachusetts at Alewife station, near the intersection of Alewife Brook Parkway and Route 2...
beyond Harvard SquareHarvard SquareHarvard Square is a large triangular area in the center of Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street, and John F. Kennedy Street. It is the historic center of Cambridge...
, into the west CambridgeCambridge, MassachusettsCambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
and SomervilleSomerville, MassachusettsSomerville is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, located just north of Boston. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 75,754 and was the most densely populated municipality in New England. It is also the 17th most densely populated incorporated place in...
areas. - The Chicago Central and Pacific RailroadChicago Central and Pacific RailroadThe Chicago Central and Pacific Railroad was a Class II railroad operating on the former Illinois Central Railroad mainline between Chicago, Illinois, Albert Lea, Minnesota, Omaha, Nebraska, and Sioux City, Iowa. The railroad was formed as a spinoff from the IC, with operations beginning on...
is formed by a spinoff of former Illinois Central lines from Chicago, Illinois, westward. - AmtrakAmtrakThe National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
's Gulf Coast LimitedGulf Coast LimitedThe Gulf Coast Limited was a passenger train operated by Amtrak in the southern United States. It ran daily from Mobile, Alabama to New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal in New Orleans, Louisiana.- History :...
passenger train makes its final run.
March deaths
- March 23 - Richard BeechingRichard BeechingRichard Beeching, Baron Beeching , commonly known as Doctor Beeching, was chairman of British Railways and a physicist and engineer...
, chairman of the British Railways BoardBritish Railways BoardThe British Railways Board was a nationalised industry in the United Kingdom that existed from 1962 to 2001. From its foundation until 1997, it was responsible for most railway services in Great Britain, trading under the brand names British Railways and, from 1965, British Rail...
1961–1965 (b. 1913).