1971 In Rail Transport

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1971

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1971 In Rail Transport

EVENTS

February events

February 9 - A Zurich -bound TEE train derails at Aitrang , Germany , due to excess speed and is hit by a Railbus . 28 die and 42 are injured.

April events

April 30 - On the eve of Amtrak 's assumption of American passenger train operations, the United States Post Office Department cancels all but one of the eight remaining Railway Mail Service routes; the final route served Washington, D.C. , to New York City .¹

May events

May 1 - Amtrak begins operations of most intercity Passenger Train service in the United States .

May 27 - A special train full of schoolchildren collides with a freight train in Dahlerau , West Germany , on the line between Wuppertal and Radevormwald due to a misunderstanding of signals. 46 die and 25 are injured, making this the worst rail accident in West Germany during Deutsche Bundesbahn times.

July events

July 21 - A fast train from Basel to Copenhagen derails due to a technical failure in the Class 103 engine; 23 die and 121 are injured.

July 31 - The Monon Railroad is merged into the Louisville And Nashville Railroad .

September events

September 10 - British Columbia Premier W.A.C. Bennett leads the ceremony to open the Pacific Great Eastern Railway 's Fort Nelson Subdivision between Fort St. John and Fort Nelson, British Columbia .

November events

November - Construction begins on the Tōhoku Shinkansen line in Japan .

December events

December 6 - The first Auto Train operates under the control of the Auto-Train Corporation .

Unknown date events

The Monon Railroad is merged into the Louisville And Nashville Railroad

Union Pacific Railroad and Chicago And North Western Railway end the '' City Of Los Angeles '' and '' City Of Denver '' trains as Amtrak takes over long-distance passenger operations in The US .

BIRTHS

DEATHS

Unknown date deaths

W. Graham Claytor , president of Southern Railway (b. 1886 ).

REFERENCES