Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
The first line of Singapore’s Light Rail Transit (LRT) series of fully automated transit systems was opened in the residential town and planning area of Bukit Panjang. This initial segment, known as the Bukit Panjang LRT Line, was formally inaugurated by Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Tony Tan Keng Yam. Tan, who has since... Continue Reading →
In southern India, a grade separator (better known in the United States as an interchange) was fully opened at a major highway junction in the city of Chennai in the state of Tamil Nadu. This cloverleaf grade separator is called Kathipara Junction, and it was formally inaugurated by Tamil Nadu’s chief minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi. Kathipara... Continue Reading →
In Siam (now known as Thailand), the Chaloem Sawan 58 Bridge made its formal debut in the capital city of Bangkok. The bridge, crossing the northern end of a manmade moat called Khlong Khu Mueang Doem in Bangkok’s present-day Phra Nakhon District, was opened by King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) on the second anniversary of the... Continue Reading →
At the age of 71, Minoru Saitō set sail from his native Japan for a circumnavigation of the globe on board his 50-foot-long yacht Shuten-dohji II. While Saitō previously sailed around the world on his own a total of six times, this particular trip was notable because it would make him the oldest person to... Continue Reading →
The first line of a new subway system in the South Korean city of Incheon began operations after six years of construction. The initial section of the north-south Incheon Subway Line 1 covered approximately 12 miles between the Bakchon and Dongmak stations. Incheon Subway Line 1, which is also included as part of the Seoul... Continue Reading →
After being extensively restored, the Royapuram railway station in South India was formally reopened to the public. Rangasamy Velu, India’s union minister of state for railways, presided at this ceremony. The Royapuram railway station is located in the northern part of the city of Chennai on the Chennai Beach-Arakkonam segment of the Chennai Suburban Railway.... Continue Reading →
More than four months after first being opened to vehicular and pedestrian traffic, a new major bridge in Thailand was dedicated. Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej (also known as Rama IX), who reigned from 1946 to 2016, presided over the ceremony. The event took place on the birth anniversary of his deceased brother and immediate predecessor... Continue Reading →
Airline transport pilot and certified flight instructor Wang Zheng (also known as Julie Wang) became the first Asian woman to circumnavigate the Earth in an airplane, and the first Chinese person to fly solo around the world, when she returned to the Texas town of Addison in the Dallas area 33 days after starting her... Continue Reading →
The Penang Bridge in the Malaysian state of Penang was officially opened to traffic. The dual carriageway toll bridge, which took about three years to build, carries traffic over the Penang Strait and links the industrial town of Perai in the Central Seberang Perai District of mainland Peninsular Malaysia with the George Town suburb of... Continue Reading →
Just over six months after being launched, the Japanese training sail ship Kaiwo Maru was fully completed by Sumitomo Heavy Industries. The four-masted vessel, measuring more than 361 feet in length, was built to replace a 1930 training ship bearing the same name. (The original Kaiwo Maru is now a museum ship in the Japanese... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 