1975 in rail transport

Conductor of the Sihltal-Zürich-Uetliberg railway in 1975.

This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in 1975.

Events

January events

• January 2 – A bomb blast at Samastipur in India fatally injures Lalit Narayan Mishra, Minister of Railways, who is visiting in order to declare the broad gauge line to Darbhanga open. ^[1]
• January 20 – The 1974 Anglo-French Channel Tunnel scheme is abandoned.

February events

• February 22 – Tretten train disaster: A head-on collision near Tretten station in Norway kills 27.
• February 28 – Moorgate tube crash on the London Underground: A train accelerates into a dead-end tunnel at Moorgate station killing 43. ^[2]

March events

• March 10 – In Japan:
  • Second phase of the San'yō Shinkansen high-speed rail line opens between Okayama and Fukuoka, bringing the system to the country's second island, Kyushu. ^[3] Travel time between the two cities is reduced to 2 hours 45 minutes, and from Fukuoka to Tokyo to 6 hours. ^[3]
  • The Kosei Line, a commuter route between Yamashina Station in Kyoto and Tsuruga opens, with Osaka-Kanazawa and Niigata express trains, changed from the route via Hikone and Nagahama.^{[ citation needed ]}

April events

• April 1 – The second American Freedom Train tour begins, powered by newly restored Southern Pacific 4449, in Wilmington, Delaware. See also American Freedom Train - 1975-76 station stops.
• April 16 – In Portugal, Decree-Law 205-B/175 is published, nationalising the Companhia dos Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses. ^[4]
• April 26 – In Japan, Keikyu extends from Miurakaigan to Misakiguchi, enabling rail service from central Tokyo further into the Miura Peninsula. ^[5]

June events

• June 6 – An overnight northbound passenger train from London, England, bound for Glasgow, Scotland, does not receive warning of a temporary speed restriction resulting in the Nuneaton rail crash.
• June 8 – Two trains collide on a single-track stretch between Lenggries and Munich due to a dispatcher's error. 41 die and 122 are injured.

July events

• July 1 – Australian National Railways Commission takes over assets of Commonwealth Railways.
• July 18 – Barcelona Sants railway station opens.
• July 19 – Hatton Cross tube station opens, the first stage of the extension of London Underground's Piccadilly line to London Heathrow Airport. ^[6]

August events

• August 5 – The first Amfleet passenger cars enter service on the Northeast Corridor. ^[7] They are Amtrak's first new intercity passenger cars and the Budd Company's last.
• August 10 – British Rail's Advanced Passenger Train achieves 245 km/h (152.3 mph) between Goring and Uffington on the Western Region.
• August 25 – The Victoria Falls Conference between Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith and the United African National Council is held in a South African Railways coach on the Victoria Falls Bridge.

September events

• September 24 – Scottish-built ex-État 140C 287 on hire to CFTA works a train from its depot at Gray, Haute-Saône, to Sainte-Colombe, the last commercial steam-hauled working on French railways.
• September 27 – Official opening of the National Railway Museum in York, England.

October events

• October 19 – US-built SNCF Class 141R 1187 of Vénissieux depot works a special return working between Lyon and Veynes, the last steam-hauled passenger train operated by SNCF.
• October 24 – The first through passenger train over the TAZARA Railway arrives in Dar es Salaam, ^[8] marking completion of this Chinese-funded 1,860 km (1,160 mi) 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge link between Tanzania and Zambia.

November events

• November – English-built SNCF Class 140C 38 works a freight train between its depot at Gray and Chalindrey, the last steam-hauled train operated by SNCF. ^[9]

December events

• December 2 – A train hijacking takes place at the village of Wijster in the Netherlands by activists wanting to endorse the self-proclaimed Republic of South Maluku in the Maluku Islands. Hostages Hans Braam, Leo Bulter and Bert Bierling are shot. The activists surrender on December 14.
• December 14 – Japanese National Railways runs its last official steam-hauled passenger train, from Muroran to Iwamizawa on Hokkaido with JNR Class C57-135. ^[10]

Unknown date events

• The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad files its third and final bankruptcy.
• Last steam locomotive operated by State Railways of Finland.
• As a result of the Independent Safety Board Act's passage the previous year, the United States National Transportation Safety Board becomes a completely independent agency, severing all organizational ties to the national Department of Transportation and all of its modal agencies. ^[11]

References

1. Limca Book of Records 1991. Bombay: Bisleri Beverages Ltd. 1991. p. 41. ISBN   81-900115-1-0.
2. Left, Sarah (January 15, 2002). "Key dates in Britain's railway history". The Guardian Unlimited.
3. Taniguchi, Mamoru (1993). "The Japanese Shinkansen". Built environment . 19 (3/4): 216. JSTOR   23288577.
4. "CP Timeline" . Retrieved November 22, 2009.
5. "発展期". Keikyu (in Japanese). Retrieved July 12, 2024.
6. Green, Oliver (1988). The London Underground – An Illustrated History. Ian Allan. p. 62. ISBN   0-7110-1720-4.
7. Amtrak. "Digging into the Archives: Introducing Amfleet". Archived from the original on August 1, 2023. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
8. "Tanzania Greets Train". The New York Times. Agence France Presse. October 25, 1975.
9. "140 C 38 Steams Again After 38 Years". The SNCF Society News. September 2013. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
10. "The Final Passenger Steam Train". The Last days of Japanese Steam Engines. Archived from the original on September 13, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
11. National Transportation Safety Board (March 15, 2005). "New NTSB publication examines 30-year history of transportation safety improvements". Archived from the original on May 10, 2005. Retrieved May 15, 2005.