January 2010 in rail transport

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This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in January 2010.

Events

January 3

• – The Bilecik train collision killed one person and injured seven more in Bilecik, Turkey.

January 4

• – Four carriages of an empty passenger train overrun the buffers and crash at Helsinki Central railway station in Finland. The carriages had broken free of their train during a shunting maneuvre and ran under gravity down the gentle hill from Linnunlaulu (halfway between Helsinki Central and Pasila railway station) before being diverting into an empty platform and impacting the buffers at 20–30 kilometres per hour (12–19 mph). Passengers aboard an adjacent commuter train waiting to depart were ordered before the impact to leave their train and run away from the area and announcements were made over the station's loudspeaker system. The conductor aboard the train as it came in sustained light injuries, with nobody else injured.^[1][2][3][4]

January 21

• – The United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issues a press release announcing its conclusions from the investigation into the 2008 Chatsworth train collision. In the report, the NTSB concludes that the cause of the accident was the Metrolink engineer's use of text messaging while on duty which led to the train being operated through a red signal into the path of the oncoming Union Pacific Railroad freight train. The investigation has led the NTSB to recommend that the U.S. Federal Government require the installation of video and audio recording equipment to be installed in all locomotive and train operating cabs.^[5]

January 25

• – A committee of Welsh Assembly politicians has called for an extensive programme of works to upgrade the railways in Wales, saying that Wales is not being treated fairly in comparison with other parts of the United Kingdom. The committee's recommendations include better links between the north and south of Wales, high-speed links from Wales to other parts of the UK, and light rail systems for the southern cities of Cardiff, Swansea and Newport. However, one academic who gave evidence to the committee says that the proposals, if implemented in full, would cost about £5 billion (more than US$8 billion), and it is unclear whether this level of public finance will be available.^[6][7]

January 28

• – United States President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden announce a plan to provide US$8 billion in stimulus grants to 31 states for the development and construction of 13 new high-speed rail passenger routes. The two states receiving the most money in grants are California with $2.3 billion and Florida with $1.3 billion for projects within their states. Another $1.1 billion from the grant money will help support a high-speed connection between Chicago and St. Louis. In making the announcement at a press conference in Tampa, Obama stated "There is no reason why other countries can build high-speed rail lines and we can't."^[8][9]

References

1. "Train crashes into hotel at Helsinki's Central Railway Station". Helsinki Sanomat. January 4, 2010. Retrieved January 4, 2010.
2. Press Association (January 4, 2010). "Finnish train crashes into hotel". United Kingdom: Google News. Retrieved January 4, 2010.
3. "Runaway Train Carriages at Helsinki Railway Station". YLE News. January 4, 2010. Retrieved January 4, 2010.
4. Xe lửa chạy vào khách sạn ở Phần Lan (Vietnamese)
5. National Transportation Safety Board (January 21, 2010). "NTSB determines engineer's failure to observe and respond to red signal caused 2008 Chatsworth accident; recorders in cabs recommended" (Press release). Retrieved January 23, 2010.
6. "AMs call for urgent upgrade of Welsh rail network". BBC News Online. January 25, 2010.
7. Devine, Darren (January 25, 2010). "Assembly's vision of our rail future 'would cost £5bn'". Western Mail.
8. Keane, Angela Greiling (January 28, 2010). "California, Florida, Midwest Share in Rail Funding". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved January 29, 2010.
9. Simon, Richard (January 28, 2010). "California to get $2.25 billion in high-speed rail funding". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 29, 2010.