January events

• January 4 – The Åsta accident
  Åsta accident
  The Åsta accident was a railway accident that occurred at 13:12:25 on 4 January 2000 at Åsta in Åmot, south of Rena in Østerdalen, Norway. A train from Trondheim collided with a local train from Hamar on Rørosbanen resulting in an explosive fire...
  
  , a northbound BM92
  NSB BM92
  NSB Class 92 is a class of 15 diesel multiple units built by Duewag for the Norwegian State Railways . The two-car trains were delivered in 1984 and 1985, and put into service on the Røros Line and southern part of the Nordland Line—which later became the Trøndelag Commuter Rail. Later, they also...
  
   multiple unit
  Diesel multiple unit
  A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...
  
   and a southbound passenger train headed by a Di 3
  NSB Di 3
  NSB Di 3 is a class of 35 diesel-electric locomotives built by Nydqvist och Holm for the Norwegian State Railways . The class was built between 1954 and 1969, and delivered in two series, Di 3a and Di 3b. They are based on the Electro-Motive Division F7 and are equipped with EMD 567 engines...
  
   locomotive collided on Norway's Rørosbanen
  Rørosbanen
  The Røros Line is a long railway line in Norway running between the towns of Hamar and Støren via Elverum and Røros. It connects to the Dovre Line at Hamar to Oslo and at Støren to Trondheim. The narrow gauge line was opened in 1877, running between Hamar and Trondheim, a total of...
  
   line near Åsta
  Åsta
  Åsta is a village in Åmot municipality, Norway. It is located seven kilometres south of the municipality centre Rena in close proximity to the Glomma river....
  
   station, killing 19 people.
• January 28 – Amtrak
  Amtrak
  The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
  
   begins to operate an electric service throughout between New York and Boston.
• January 29 – The Termini Station, in Rome, opens.

February events

• February 4 – German railway saboteur Klaus-Peter Sabotta
  Klaus-Peter Sabotta
  Klaus-Peter Sabotta was an extortionist who sabotaged German railways in December 1998, only six months after the Eschede disaster. He claimed to represent former employees of the German railway operator Deutsche Bahn who had been made redundant, and demanded a ransom of DM10 million...
  
   is sentenced to life imprisonment
  Life imprisonment
  Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
  
   for attempted murder
  Attempted murder
  Attempted murder is a crime in England and Wales and Northern Ireland.-Today:In English criminal law, attempted murder is the crime of more than merely preparing to commit unlawful killing and at the same time having a specific intention to cause the death of human being under the Queen's Peace...
  
   and extortion
  Extortion
  Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
  
  .
• February 6 – The Brühl train disaster
  Brühl train disaster
  The Brühl train disaster happened on 6 February 2000 in the Brühl, Germany, railway station on the West Rhine railway. A train negotiated a low speed turnout at three times the correct speed and derailed, killing 9 people....
  
  ; in Brühl
  Brühl
  -Places and locations:Germany* Brühl * Brühl * Brühl , a street in LeipzigPoland* Brühl Palace, Warsaw-People:* Alois Friedrich von Brühl , a Polish-Saxon diplomat, politician, soldier, actor and playwright...
  
  , Germany killed 9 when a train negotiated a low speed turnout at three times the correct speed and derailed, on the West Rhine Railway.

March events

• March 8 – Tokyo train disaster
  Tokyo train disaster
  The Naka-Meguro train disaster occurred in Japan on 8 March 2000. Five people were killed and 63 were injured when a derailed Eidan Hibiya Line train was sideswiped by a second train near Naka-Meguro Station.- Accident events :At around 9 a.m...
  
  : a sideswipe collision of two Tokyo Metro
  Tokyo Metro
  is one of two rapid transit systems making up the Tokyo subway system, the other being Toei. It is the most used subway system in the world in terms of annual passenger rides.-Organization:...
  
   trains kills 5 people near Naka-Meguro Station
  Naka-Meguro Station
  is a railway station located in Meguro, Tokyo, Japan.Naka-Meguro is a convenient transfer point between the Tōkyū Tōyoko Line and the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line, connecting Yokohama with the districts of Roppongi, Akihabara, Ginza, and Tsukiji in Tokyo, and beyond...
  
  .

April events

• April – In Ireland
  Ireland
  Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
  
  , the DART
  Dublin Area Rapid Transit
  The Dublin Area Rapid Transit is part of the suburban railway network in Ireland, running mainly along the coastline of Dublin Bay on the Trans-Dublin route, from Greystones in County Wicklow, through Dublin to Howth and Malahide in County Dublin.Trains are powered via a 1500V DC overhead catenary...
  
   system is finally extended southwards from Bray
  Bray
  Bray is a town in north County Wicklow, Ireland. It is a busy urban centre and seaside resort, with a population of 31,901 making it the fourth largest in Ireland as of the 2006 census...
  
   to Greystones
  Greystones
  Greystones is a coastal town and small seaside resort in County Wicklow, Ireland. It is located on Ireland’s east coast, south of Bray and south of Dublin , with a population in the region of 15,000....
  
  .
• April 20–28 – Former NSWGR's 38 class locomotives 3801 and 3830 head to Melbourne, Victoria called the Millennium Aurora by the NSW Rail Transport Museum during the Easter Long Weekend. This would be the last time that NSW steam will ever visit Victoria
  Victoria (Australia)
  Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
  
  .

May events

• May 23 – General Motors Electro-Motive Division
  General Motors Electro-Motive Division
  Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc., also referred to as "EMD", is a wholly owned subsidiary of Progress Rail Services Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc., that designs, manufactures and sells diesel-electric locomotives and diesel power engines worldwide under the Electro-Motive...
  
   delivers to the Union Pacific Railroad
  Union Pacific Railroad
  The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
  
   the first five EMD SD70M diesel locomotive
  Diesel locomotive
  A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
  
  s in the largest single order (1,000 locomotives) for diesel locomotives ever by a single railroad.

June events

• June 7 – The Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel
  Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel
  The Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel is a tunnel through Maynard Mountain in the U.S. state of Alaska. It links the Seward Highway south of Anchorage at the former town of Portage with the relatively isolated community of Whittier, a port for the Alaska Marine Highway...
  
  , originally built for rail traffic in 1943, opens for combined rail/highway traffic, making it the longest combined rail/highway tunnel in North America.

July events

• July 1 – Opening of the Oresund Bridge
  Oresund Bridge
  The Øresund or Öresund Bridge is a combined twin-track railway and dual carriageway bridge-tunnel across the Øresund strait.The bridge connects Sweden and Denmark, and it is the longest road and rail bridge in Europe. The Øresund Bridge also connects two major Metropolitan Areas: those of the...
  
   bridge-tunnel
  Bridge-tunnel
  A fixed link, fixed crossing, or bridge-tunnel is a persistent, unbroken road or rail connection across water that uses some combination of bridges, tunnels, and causeways and does not involve intermittent connections such as drawbridges or ferries.The Confederation Bridge was commonly referred to...
  
   carrying road traffic and the Oresund Railway
  Oresund Railway
  Oresund Line is a railway between Copenhagen in Denmark and Malmö in Sweden via the Oresund Bridge. On the Swedish side the railway infrastructure is managed by Swedish Transport Administration, on the Danish side the railway infrastructure is managed by Banedanmark.The railway line continues from...
  
   between Denmark and Sweden.
• July 4 – Amtrak
  Amtrak
  The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
  
  's new Bakersfield Station
  Bakersfield (Amtrak station)
  The Bakersfield Amtrak Station is a train station in Bakersfield, California. It is the southern terminus of Amtrak's San Joaquin route operated by Amtrak California, with Thruway Motorcoach service continuing to Amtrak stations and bus stops throughout Southern California and Nevada...
  
   opens.
• July 11 – Via Rail Canada announces that it will use five sleeping car
  Sleeping car
  The sleeping car or sleeper is a railway/railroad passenger car that can accommodate all its passengers in beds of one kind or another, primarily for the purpose of making nighttime travel more restful. The first such cars saw sporadic use on American railroads in the 1830s and could be configured...
  
  s leased from Amtrak
  Amtrak
  The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
  
   for runs between Winnipeg and Churchill, Manitoba
  Churchill, Manitoba
  Churchill is a town on the shore of Hudson Bay in Manitoba, Canada. It is most famous for the many polar bears that move toward the shore from inland in the autumn, leading to the nickname "Polar Bear Capital of the World" that has helped its growing tourism industry.-History:A variety of nomadic...
  
  .
• July 14 – The United States Surface Transportation Board
  Surface Transportation Board
  The Surface Transportation Board of the United States is a bipartisan, decisionally-independent adjudicatory body organizationally housed within the U.S. Department of Transportation. The STB was established in 1996 to assume some of the regulatory functions that had been administered by the...
  
  's temporary moratorium on railroad mergers is upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit; the ruling contributes to the failure of the proposed BNSF/CN
  Canadian National Railway
  The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
  
   merger.
• July 21 – Manchester Metrolink
  Manchester Metrolink
  Metrolink is a light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. It consists of four lines which converge in Manchester city centre and terminate in Bury, Altrincham, Eccles and Chorlton-cum-Hardy. The system is owned by Transport for Greater Manchester and operated under contract by RATP Group...
  
  , in Manchester
  Manchester
  Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
  
  , England, is extended to Eccles.

October events

• October 2 – Via Rail
  VIA Rail
  Via Rail Canada is an independent crown corporation offering intercity passenger rail services in Canada. It is headquartered near Montreal Central Station at 3 Place Ville-Marie in Montreal, Quebec....
  
   operates a funeral train for Prime Minister
  Prime Minister of Canada
  The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
  
   Pierre Trudeau
  Pierre Trudeau
  Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, , usually known as Pierre Trudeau or Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968 to June 4, 1979, and again from March 3, 1980 to June 30, 1984.Trudeau began his political career campaigning for socialist ideals,...
  
   between Ottawa
  Ottawa
  Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
  
   and Montreal
  Montreal
  Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
  
  ; the train's journey, which was frequently slowed through towns for the numerous well-wishers, was documented by a CBC
  Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
  The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
  
   news helicopter
  Helicopter
  A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
  
  .

• October 17 – The Hatfield rail crash
  Hatfield rail crash
  The Hatfield rail crash was a railway accident on 17 October 2000, at Hatfield, Hertfordshire, UK. Although the accident killed fewer than other accidents, Hatfield exposed the major stewardship shortcomings of the privatised national railway infrastructure company Railtrack and the failings of...
  
  , south of Hatfield, Hertfordshire
  Hatfield, Hertfordshire
  Hatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It has a population of 29,616, and is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House, the home of the Marquess of Salisbury, is the nucleus of the old town...
  
  , UK, occurs when a train traveling at 115 mph derails due to a rail that breaks under it. 4 people are killed, and there is considerable disruption to the national rail network as the infrastructure is reviewed.
• October 29 – Amtrak
  Amtrak
  The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
  
   upgrades service on the California Zephyr
  California Zephyr
  The California Zephyr is a long passenger train route operated by Amtrak in the midwestern and western United States.It runs from Chicago, Illinois, in the east to Emeryville, California, in the west, passing through the states of Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California...
  
  to daily.

November events

• November 11 – An faulty heater aboard a funicular
  Funicular
  A funicular, also known as an inclined plane or cliff railway, is a cable railway in which a cable attached to a pair of tram-like vehicles on rails moves them up and down a steep slope; the ascending and descending vehicles counterbalance each other.-Operation:The basic principle of funicular...
  
   train in Kaprun
  Kaprun
  Kaprun is a small alpine village in the district of Zell am See in the state of Salzburg, Austria. At the foot of the Kitzsteinhorn Glacier, it is a year round sports centre, with a population of 2,903 ....
  
  , Austria, starts a fire in the train's brake fluid while the train is in a tunnel; only four of the train's 155 passengers survived the fire in the Kaprun disaster
  Kaprun disaster
  The Kaprun disaster was a fire that occurred in an ascending railway car in the tunnel of the Gletscherbahn 2 railway in Kaprun, Austria, on 11 November 2000. The disaster claimed the lives of 155 people, leaving 12 survivors from the burning car...
  
  .

December events

• December 2 – The Sarai Banjara rail disaster in the Punjab
  Punjab (India)
  Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
  
  , India killed 46 and injured at least 150 when a freight train derailed into the path of a passenger train.
• December 30 – The Rizal Day bombings
  Rizal Day bombings
  The Rizal Day bombings, also referred to as the December 30 bombings, were a series of bombings that occurred around Metro Manila in the Philippines on December 30, 2000. The explosions occurred in close succession within a span of a few hours...
  
   occurred around Metro Manila
  Metro Manila
  Metropolitan Manila , the National Capital Region , or simply Metro Manila, is the metropolitan region encompassing the City of Manila and its surrounding areas in the Philippines...
  
   in the Philippines leaving 22 dead.

Unknown date events

• Robert Krebs
  Robert Krebs
  Robert D. Krebs has headed three major United States railroads in succession, leading the Southern Pacific when it was acquired by Santa Fe Industries, rising to lead the resulting Santa Fe Pacific Corporation, and finally being chosen to head the new Burlington Northern Santa Fe when Santa Fe...
  
   resigns as Chief Executive Officer of Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway
• The fourth and final phase of Cairo Metro
  Cairo Metro
  The Cairo Metro in Egypt is the first of only two full-fledged metro system in Africa, and the Arab World. The system consists of two operational lines, with construction having begun on a third line in 2006....
  
  's Line Two (Yellow) opens.
• Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway and Canadian National Railway
  Canadian National Railway
  The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
  
   file for a merger, but the merger is denied by regulatory agencies.
• The Iwateichinohe Tunnel on the Morioka
  Morioka, Iwate
  is the capital city of Iwate Prefecture, Japan.As of 2005, the city has an estimated population of 300,740 and a population density of 588.11 persons per km². The total area is 489.15 km²....
  
  -Hachinohe
  Hachinohe, Aomori
  - Neighbouring municipalities :Aomori Prefecture*Sannohe District**Hashikami**Gonohe**Nanbu*Kamikita District**OiraseIwate Prefecture*Karumai-History:...
  
   section of Japan's Tōhoku Shinkansen
  Tohoku Shinkansen
  The is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen rail line, connecting Tokyo with Aomori in Aomori Prefecture for a total length of 674 km, Japan's longest Shinkansen line. It runs through the more sparsely populated Tōhoku region of Japan's main island Honshu. It has two spur lines, Yamagata...
  
   is completed; at 25.8 km (16 mi) long, it is the longest land rail tunnel to date.
• In Ireland, the Dublin Area Rapid Transit
  Dublin Area Rapid Transit
  The Dublin Area Rapid Transit is part of the suburban railway network in Ireland, running mainly along the coastline of Dublin Bay on the Trans-Dublin route, from Greystones in County Wicklow, through Dublin to Howth and Malahide in County Dublin.Trains are powered via a 1500V DC overhead catenary...
  
   system is extended northwards from Howth Junction to Malahide
  Malahide
  Malahide is a coastal suburban town, near Dublin city, located in the administrative county of Fingal, within the traditional County Dublin, Ireland. It has a village-like centre and extensive residential areas to the south, west and northwest.-Name:...
  
  .

North America

• 2000 Railroader of the Year
  Railroader of the Year
  Railroader of the Year is an annual award presented to a North American railroad industry worker by trade journal Railway Age. The award was first presented in 1964 by trade journal Modern Railroads and has continued through the magazine acquisition in 1992 to the present.Past recipients of this...
  
  : The railroad worker (the award for 2000 was changed to "Railroader of the Century")
• 2000 Regional Railroad of the Year
  Regional Railroad of the Year
  The Regional Railroad of the Year is an annual award given to exemplary North American regional railroads by rail transport industry publication Railway Age...
  
  : Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad
  Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad
  The Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad is a class II railroad that operates in northwestern Pennsylvania and northeastern Ohio.The railroad's main route runs from the Lake Erie port of Conneaut, Ohio to the Pittsburgh suburb of Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, a distance of 139 miles...
  
  
• 2000 Short Line Railroad of the Year
  Short Line Railroad of the Year
  The Short Line Railroad of the Year is an annual award presented to North American short line railroads by rail transport industry publication Railway Age.Past recipients of this award are:* 1992 - RailTex...
  
  : Arkansas Midland Railroad