Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
April 22, 1857 A railway station was opened in the prefecture and commune of Carcassonne in southern France’s department of Aude. This station was built by the Railway Company du Midi. Carcassone railway station (Gare de Carcassonne) is now operated by the Société nationale des Chemins de fer francais (SNCF), the national state-owned railway company... Continue Reading →
December 22, 2012 A single-track tramway line in Oranjestad, the capital city of the Caribbean island country of Aruba, was officially dedicated. Aruba is a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands and -- along with the Netherlands’ special municipalities and other constituent countries in the Caribbean Sea -- it is part of those... Continue Reading →
October 23, 1980 The first formal intercity air/ground/rail transportation connection in the United States -- and the country’s first rail station built on airport-owned property -- was officially dedicated about 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) from the terminal of Baltimore/Washington International Airport. Construction on that rail station serving the airport (now known as Baltimore Washington International... Continue Reading →
August 11, 2015 A grand opening was held for a newly built rapid transit station in the University Circle neighborhood on the east side of Cleveland. This station, which is part of the Red Line of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority -- best known as RTA -- is specifically located at the intersection of... Continue Reading →
May 9, 1896 The Nord Express (Northern Express) train service was introduced by the Belgian company Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits (CIWL). This train transported passengers from Paris, France, to Saint Petersburg, Russia, traveling between those two points via the cities of Brussels, Cologne, Hanover, Berlin, Konigsberg (present-day Kalingrad), and Dvinsk (now known as Daugavpils). Following World War... Continue Reading →
January 19, 1977 In the Philippines, Food Terminal Junction station (also known as FTI station) was opened in the city of Taguig in Metro Manila (an area that is officially called the National Capital Region) on the island of Luzon. FTI station is part of the South Main Line serving the larger network of the... Continue Reading →
October 20, 2015 After more than a half-century without any tram (streetcar) service in Medellín, the transit system known as the Ayacucho Tram was formally launched in that major Colombian city. The Ayacucho Tram, which is operated by the rapid transit network Medellín Metro, is currently the only tram service in all of Colombia. For... Continue Reading →
September 7, 1985 A five-story structure serving as both a passenger rail station and transportation center was officially dedicated in the city of Santa Ana in Southern California. (Santa Ana is one of the most populous cities in the Greater Los Angeles region and the county seat of Orange County.) Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center... Continue Reading →
July 14, 1990 In California, the Blue Line of Los Angeles County’s transit system began making regular runs. This line (renamed the A Line in 2019) was the first of the six lines that now comprise the Los Angeles Metro Rail. “After nearly three decades, commuter rail returns to Los Angeles today with the opening... Continue Reading →
April 14, 2002 In Malaysia, an express rail line serving Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) began operations. KLIA, which is about 28 miles (45 kilometers) south of the central section of Malaysia’s capital city of Kuala Lumpur, is that country’s largest and busiest airport; it is also one of the biggest airports in all of... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 