Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
July 1, 2002 On Japan’s island of Shikoku, a passenger railway station was opened in the town of Kagami in Kōchi Prefecture. (In 2006, Kagami became part of the newly formed city of Kōnan; however, the name of the station has remained the same.) Kagami Station is located on the 26.5-mile (42.7-kilometer)-long Asa Line of... Continue Reading →
April 16, 2013 A newly built railway terminus in Kurla, a suburb of western India’s city of Mumbai, was officially opened. (Along with being the most populous city of India, Mumbai is the capital of the country’s state of Maharashtra.) This terminus was the replacement for a smaller and dilapidated station complex that had long... Continue Reading →
April 8, 2017 A replacement railway station on Monte Generoso in southeastern Switzerland was opened. This station is specifically located in Ticino, which has the distinction of being the only Swiss canton where Italian is the sole official language. The current version of Generoso Vetta railway station was designed by Ticino-born architect Mario Botta (born... Continue Reading →
March 14, 2020 A railway station in Takanawa, a neighborhood of the special ward of Minato in Japan’s capital city of Tokyo, made its official public debut. Takanawa Gateway Station, which is operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East), was opened in March of 2020 so that it could be readily available over... Continue Reading →
February 27, 2005 A pivotal moment took place for construction on a railway tunnel in the northeastern part of Honshu, the largest island of Japan, when both halves of this structure were joined together. This breakthrough occurred about six-and-a-half years after the start of that construction project. That tunnel specifically courses through the Hakkōda mountain... Continue Reading →
January 17, 2004 In Australia, the first freight train to travel on the Adelaide-Darwin railway line in its entirety reached the end of its long journey. This long-anticipated line serves as a major transportation link between the cities of Adelaide, the capital of the state of South Australia; and Darwin, the capital of Australia’s Northern... Continue Reading →
January 9, 1843 Industrial engineer and coal-mining official William Hedley died at the age of 63 near the English village of Lanchester. He was instrumental in harnessing the untapped potential and practical applications of railways. Hedley’s greatest contribution in this regard took place when, as a manager at a coal-mining facility near the city of Newcastle... Continue Reading →
December 12, 2022 A high-speed railway in the southeastern part of Norway was formally opened. This railway covers 14 miles (22 kilometers) altogether between Oslo, Norway’s capital and most populous city; and Ski, a town in the municipality of Nordre Follo in the district of Follo. Harald V (born in 1937), who has reigned as... Continue Reading →
December 5, 2020 In the Canadian province of Ontario, an intercity bus terminal in the downtown section of Toronto was officially opened. The Union Station Bus Terminal (USBT), which is operated by the government-owned company Metrolinx, is connected via pedestrian walkways to Union Station (a major railway facility and Canada’s busiest transportation hub). USBT serves... Continue Reading →
December 1, 1863 In the east-central section of New Zealand’s South Island, a railway line between the city of Christchurch and its suburb of Ferrymead in the Canterbury Region first went into service. Several days later, the area newspaper known as the Press confirmed “that the Ferrymead Railway was opened for traffic, with a general... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 