View source for Portal:Trains/Did you know/March 2014

=== March 2014 ===

{{Trains portal/DYK image|TKJ-Kiha11DC.jpg|A Tokai Transport Service KiHa 11-200 diesel car at Biwajima Station in 2006}}
* ...that [[Tōkai Transport Service Company]]'s '''[[Tōkai Transport Service Jōhoku Line|Jōhoku Line]]''', which is operated as a [[commuter rail]] line connecting [[Kachigawa Station]] in [[Kasugai, Aichi|Kasugai]] and [[Biwajima Station]] in [[Kiyosu, Aichi|Kiyosu]] in [[Aichi Prefecture]], [[Japan]], was originally constructed in the 1970s to be a freight line?<!-- March 30, 2014 -->{{-}}
{{Trains portal/DYK image|Teito rapid transit authority 3000 3021.jpg|TRTA 3000 series train running on the Tobu Isesaki Line in 1988}}
* ...that '''[[TRTA 3000 series]]''' trains that were used on the [[Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line|Hibiya Line]] in [[Tokyo]], [[Japan]], served as testbeds for [[Automatic train operation|driverless operation]] from 1962 until 1987 and the success of those experiments became the basis of operating the [[Tokyo Metro Namboku Line|Namboku Line]] in driverless mode?<!-- March 29, 2014 -->{{-}}
{{Trains portal/DYK image|RU800S atepitovonat 3.JPG|A Plasser & Theurer type RU 800 S renewal machine on the Szombathely–Szentgotthárd railway line, Hungary, in 2010}}
* ...that with a little preparation to the line, modern '''[[track renewal train]]s''' can minimize the disruption to regular railway service by replacing [[Track ballast|ballast]], [[Railroad tie|ties]], [[Rail fastening system|spikes or rail clips]] and rail in one continuous pass over the [[Track (rail transport)|track]] that is being renewed?<!-- March 28, 2014 -->{{-}}
{{Trains portal/DYK image|Kvbdellbrueck01.jpg|The exterior of the museum hall at Thielenbruch in 2006}}
* ...that since 1997, the 1926-built hall at '''[[Thielenbruch (KVB)|Thielenbruch]]''' station, the other half which now serves as a terminal for [[Cologne Stadtbahn]] in [[Germany]], is used as a [[transport museum]] to document the development of [[tram]]ways and [[S-Bahn|Stadtbahn]] in the [[Cologne]] region?<!-- March 25, 2014 -->{{-}}
{{Trains portal/DYK image|Osaka Subway 32601F 20090918.jpg|A Tanimachi Line 30000 series train at Yao Depot in 2009}}
* ...that [[Osaka Municipal Subway]]'s '''[[Tanimachi Line]]''', which connects [[Dainichi Station]] in [[Moriguchi, Osaka|Moriguchi]] to [[Yaominami Station]] in [[Yao, Osaka|Yao]] through [[Osaka]] City, is officially named {{nihongo|Rapid Electric Tramway Line No. 2|高速電気軌道第2号線}} even though it was actually the fourth to open?<!-- March 24, 2014 -->{{-}}
{{Trains portal/DYK image|Taiwan history travel pushcar2.jpg|A postcard showing a pushcar railway in Taiwan}}
* ...that '''[[Taiwanese push car railways|push car railways]]''' were introduced to [[Taiwan]] in the 1890s by [[Japan]], and at its peak during the late 1920s to mid-1930s the network extended from [[Taipei]] to [[Kaohsiung]]?<!-- March 23, 2014 -->{{-}}
{{Trains portal/DYK image|Streetcar Depot, West Los Angeles VA Center.JPG|The preserved depot in 2008}}
* ...that the [[right-of-way (transportation)|right-of-way]] leading to the '''[[Streetcar Depot, West Los Angeles|Streetcar Depot]]''', on the grounds of the [[Sawtelle Veterans Home]] in [[West Los Angeles]], which served as the terminus of the Soldier's Home Branch, a short extension of [[Pacific Electric]]'s [[Santa Monica Air Line (Pacific Electric)|Santa Monica Air Line]], is still partially intact?<!-- March 22, 2014 -->{{-}}
{{Trains portal/DYK image|Metro SPB Line5 Sportivnaya.jpg|The upper level platforms of Sportivnaya station in 2011}}
* ...that because of its close proximity to Petrovskiy Stadium, '''[[Sportivnaya (Saint Petersburg Metro)|Sportivnaya]]''' station on [[Saint Petersburg Metro]]'s [[Frunzensko-Primorskaya Line]], the first double-decked station with [[cross-platform transfer]] in [[Russia]], closes during and immediately after [[FC Zenit Saint Petersburg]]'s home games mostly due to apprehension over riot damage?<!-- March 21, 2014 -->{{-}}
{{Trains portal/DYK image|SAR Class GMAM 4059 (4-8-2+2-8-4) R16 REGM.jpg|A class GMAM locomotive circa 1993}}
* ...that between 1954 and 1958 the [[Transnet Freight Rail|South African Railways]] placed one hundred and twenty '''[[South African Class GMA 4-8-2+2-8-4|Class GMA]]''' [[branch line]] and Class GMAM [[main line (railway)|main line]] [[4-8-2+2-8-4]] "Double Mountain" [[Garratt]] articulated [[steam locomotives]] in service, making it the most numerous Garratt class in the world?<!-- March 20, 2014 -->{{-}}
{{Trains portal/DYK image|SAR Class 18E Series 1 18-224.JPG|Class 18E locomotive number 18-224 at Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, in 2007}}
* ...that when the project to rebuild [[Transnet Freight Rail|South African Railways]]' Class 6E1 [[electric locomotive]]s to Spoornet '''[[South African Class 18E, Series 1|Class 18E]]''' began, most of the early rebuildings were done on the newest of the Class 6E1 fleet, partly due to the mechanical similarity between the two classes?<!-- March 19, 2014 -->{{-}}
{{Trains portal/DYK image|The locomotive BB675079 EMT Haute-Picardie.JPG|An SNCF Infra locomotive and two other SNCF locomotives at Haute-Picardie station in 2009}}
* ...that although [[EU Directive 91/440|EU regulations]] dictated that [[SNCF]], the national railway of [[France]], be split into two companies with SNCF retaining train operations and [[Réseau Ferré de France|RFF]] taking over infrastructure maintenance, '''[[SNCF Infra]]''' was established as a division of SNCF to handle infrastructure maintenance?<!-- March 18, 2014 -->{{-}}
{{Trains portal/DYK image|Shiwaguchi stn.jpg|Shiwaguchi Station in 2004}}
* ...that the "Shiwa" in the name of '''[[Shiwaguchi Station]]''' on [[West Japan Railway Company|JR West]]'s [[Geibi Line]], is derived from the nearby Shiwa-chō, [[Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima|Higashihiroshima]], despite there being no shuttle bus or other connection between the two locations?<!-- March 17, 2014 -->{{-}}
{{Trains portal/DYK image|Shinsakuradai-Sta-Platform.JPG|The tracks and platforms of Shin-Sakuradai Station in 2012}}
* ...that '''[[Shin-Sakuradai Station]]''', on [[Seibu Railway]]'s [[Seibu Yūrakuchō Line|Yūrakuchō Line]] in [[Nerima, Tokyo]], [[Japan]], is the only underground station owned by Seibu while the neighboring [[Kotake-mukaihara Station]] on the same line is owned by [[Tokyo Metro]]?<!-- March 16, 2014 -->{{-}}
{{Trains portal/DYK image|KTR OER Shimo-kitazawa Station.jpg|The tracks and platforms of Shimo-Kitazawa Station in 2009}}
* ...that as a legacy of the [[Inokashira Line]]'s former ownership by [[Odakyu Electric Railway]], an unusual feature of '''[[Shimo-Kitazawa Station]]''' in [[Setagaya, Tokyo]], [[Japan]], is the use of a single ticket gate serving two independent lines and ticketing systems?<!-- March 13, 2014 -->{{-}}
{{Trains portal/DYK image|Shibayama-3600.jpg|A 3600 class EMU on the Shibayama Railway in 2007}}
* ...that although the '''[[Shibayama Railway]]''' is an independent operator, running the {{convert|2.2|km|mi|adj=mid|long}} line between [[Higashi-Narita Station|Higashi-Narita]] and [[Shibayama-Chiyoda Station|Shibayama-Chiyoda]] stations, the shortest independent railway line in [[Japan]], it functionally resembles an extension of the [[Keisei Electric Railway]]?<!-- March 9, 2014 -->{{-}}
{{Trains portal/DYK image|Beinwil am See Seetalbahn 2003-06-25 4528.jpg|A modern Seetal train on typical trackage along the route in 2003}}
* ...that the '''[[Seetal railway line]]''', which was opened in 1883 by the Swiss Lake Valley Railway Company to connect [[Lenzburg]] and [[Lucerne]] in [[Switzerland]] and is now operated by [[Swiss Federal Railways]], was built following the parallel road almost throughout, running within the villages separating houses from the road, and despite rebuilding to improve its safety record, much of this nature has survived into the 21st century?<!-- March 8, 2014 -->{{-}}
{{Trains portal/DYK image|Sanriku Railway 36-600.JPG|The retro styled Sanriku Railway 36-600 series DMU number 602 in 2005}}
* ...that when '''[[Sanriku Railway]]''' was established in 1981 to assume operations of former [[Japanese National Railways]] lines that were going to be closed, it became the first "[[Public–private partnership|third sector]]" (half [[State ownership|public]], half [[Private railway|private]]) railway line in [[Japan]], excluding special cases such as freight railways in seaports?<!-- March 7, 2014 -->{{-}}
{{Trains portal/DYK image|Sachalintunnel en.svg|Map showing rail lines on Sakhalin island and the location of the Sakhalin tunnel to mainland Russia}}
* ...that current plans for construction of the '''[[Sakhalin Tunnel]]''', a railway connection first envisioned in the latter 19th century which would connect the island of [[Sakhalin]] with mainland [[Russia]] under the [[Nevelskoy Strait]], project its completion by 2030?<!-- March 5, 2014 -->{{-}}
{{Trains portal/DYK image|Savannah River St Streetcar.jpg|The former Melbourne tram used for the River Street Streetcar in 2009}}
* ...that although the current single-car '''[[River Street Streetcar]]''' [[heritage streetcar]] service in [[Savannah, Georgia]], uses a 1930s-era [[W-class Melbourne tram|W5-class streetcar]] originally from [[Melbourne]], [[Australia]], that has been converted to run on a [[biodiesel]]-fueled generator and batteries, future line extensions are planned to be [[railway electrification system|electrified]] by [[overhead wire]]s?<!-- March 4, 2014 -->{{-}}
{{Trains portal/DYK image|RapidMetroGurgaon(3).jpg|A Gurgaon Metro station under construction in January 2013}}
* ...that '''[[Rapid MetroRail Gurgaon]]''', which was built at a cost of nearly {{INRConvert|11|b}} and opened in November 2013, is the first fully privately financed [[rapid transit|metro system]] in [[India]]?<!-- March 3, 2014 -->{{-}}
{{Trains portal/DYK image|Allegro helsinki 1.jpg|A VR Allegro train at Helsinki Central station in January 2014}}
* ...that for '''[[rail transport in Finland]]''', most [[passenger train]] services, which are operated by [[VR Group]], originate or terminate at [[Helsinki Central railway station]], and a large proportion of the passenger rail network radiates out of [[Helsinki]]?<!-- March 2, 2014 -->{{-}}
{{Trains portal/DYK image|Pöstlingbergbahn-Bombardier Testfahrt.jpg|Tram car 501 of the Pöstlingbergbahn on a test ride before the reopening of the line in May 2009}}
* ...that the [[narrow gauge railway|narrow-gauge]] '''[[Pöstlingbergbahn]]''' [[tram]] system in [[Linz]], [[Austria]], was built to use {{Track gauge|1000mm|allk=on}} gauge track in 1898 and continued as such until it was [[Track gauge conversion|regauged]] to {{Track gauge|900mm}} and a track connection to the [[trams in Linz|Linz tram network]] was built in 2009?<!-- March 1, 2014 -->{{-}}

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[[Category:Rail transport did you know archives|14-03]]