February 1–5

February 3 – Nagpur level crossing disaster

Nagpur level crossing disaster

The Nagpur level crossing disaster was an accident that occurred on 3 February 2005, when a crowded trailer being towed by a tractor was hit by a train near the village of Kanan, 20km from Nagpur in Maharashtra, India...

 – A crowded trailer being towed by a tractor was hit by a train near the village of Kanan, 20 km from Nagpur

Nagpur

Nāgpur is a city and winter capital of the state of Maharashtra, the largest city in central India and third largest city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune...

 in Maharashtra, India. 55 people died.

February 6–12

February 9 – BNSF Railway

BNSF Railway

The BNSF Railway is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. It is one of seven North American Class I railroads and the second largest freight railroad network in North America, second only to the Union Pacific Railroad, its primary...

 announces that it has begun planning for the construction of a new intermodal

Intermodal freight transport

Intermodal freight transport involves the transportation of freight in an intermodal container or vehicle, using multiple modes of transportation , without any handling of the freight itself when changing modes. The method reduces cargo handling, and so improves security, reduces damages and...

 container transload facility near the port of Los Angeles, California. http://www.bnsf.com/news/articles/2005/02/2005_02_09a.html?index=/news/index.html

February 13–19

• February 15
  •  United States – Construction begins on the first light rail
    Light rail
    Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
    
     commuter line in Phoenix, Arizona
    Phoenix, Arizona
    Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
    
    ; it is scheduled to open in December 2008. http://www.ble.org/pr/news/headline.asp?id=12827
  •  United States – Juan Manuel Alvarez
    Juan Manuel Álvarez
    Juan Manuel Álvarez , a laborer from Compton, California, is a Californian convicted of causing the January 26, 2005, Glendale train crash, a collision between a passenger train, another passenger train, a freight train, and a car in Glendale, California...
    
     enters a plea of not guilty at his arraignment
    Arraignment
    Arraignment is a formal reading of a criminal complaint in the presence of the defendant to inform the defendant of the charges against him or her. In response to arraignment, the accused is expected to enter a plea...
    
     hearing for his involvement in the Glendale train crash
    Glendale train crash
    The 2005 Glendale train crash is the second deadliest incident in the history of Metrolink, the commuter railroad in the Los Angeles, California, area. It was overtaken as the deadliest by the 2008 Chatsworth train collision.On January 26, 2005, at 6:03 a.m...
    
    . http://www.ble.org/pr/news/headline.asp?id=12821
  •  United States – The city of Washington, DC, enacts legislation that bans railroads from transporting hazardous materials through the city. http://csx.com/?fuseaction=company.news_detail&i=46841&news_year=2005

February 20–26

February 25 – Bombardier

Bombardier Transportation

Bombardier Transportation is the rail equipment division of the Canadian firm, Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Transportation is one of the world's largest companies in the rail-equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. Its headquarters are in Berlin, Germany....

 is awarded a contract to build 361 passenger cars for a new Chinese rail line to Lhasa

Lhasa

Lhasa is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China and the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining. At an altitude of , Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world...

, Tibet

Tibet

Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...

; due to the destination's altitude the cars will include special UV

Ultraviolet

Ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays, in the range 10 nm to 400 nm, and energies from 3 eV to 124 eV...

-filtering glass and a unique oxygen

Oxygen

Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...

 enriching system. http://www.trains.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/005/768dqrts.asp February 26 – Ground is broken for a new light rail

Light rail

Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...

 commuter service in Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...

. http://www.trains.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/005/771ijuqb.asp

Deaths

February 12 – Vernon L. Smith, mechanical engineer for Lima Locomotive Works

Lima Locomotive Works

Lima Locomotive Works was an American firm that manufactured railroad locomotives from the 1870s through the 1950s. The company took the most distinctive part of its name from its main shops location in Lima, Ohio. The shops were located between the Baltimore & Ohio's Cincinnati-Toledo main line...

 in the 1930s, superintendent of motive power for the Belt Railway of Chicago

Belt Railway of Chicago

The Belt Railway of Chicago , headquartered in Chicago, is the largest switching terminal railroad in the United States. It is co-owned by six Class I railroads — BNSF Railway, Canadian National Railway, Canadian Pacific Railway, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern Railway, and Union...

in the 1970s, and noted railroad author (b. 1912).