Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
A new light rail system began operations in Genoa, Italy’s sixth largest city (nicknamed “The Proud One” for its storied past and historic landmarks). The debut of the first section of the single-line Genoa Metro coincided with the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament; that year’s competition was sponsored by... Continue Reading →
Elattuvalapil Sreedharan, who has played a key role in the development of public transportation in India, was born in the town of Pattambi in South India’s present-day state of Kerala. Sreedharan studied civil engineering at the Government Engineering College (now called Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University) in Kakinada, and eventually secured a position with the Indian... Continue Reading →
A transportation milestone for the Tsar-ruled Russian Empire took place when the first two trams with electric motors arrived in Kiev. On the same day as their arrival, both trams underwent test runs on Sahaydachny Street in the city. The trams, which were built by renowned engineer Amand Struve (1835-1898), marked the start of the... Continue Reading →
Robert Risson, an engineer who played a crucial role in the retention of the tram system in southeastern Australia’s city of Melbourne, was born in the town of Ma Ma Creek in northeastern Australia. Risson received a bachelor of engineering degree from the University of Queensland in 1922, and the following year he began work... Continue Reading →
A new station of the Brussels Metro, a rapid transit system serving Belgium’s capital city and several neighboring municipalities, was opened. The Sainte-Catherine metro station owes its name to a nearby historic Catholic church in the section of central Brussels known as the Lower Town. The station marked the western terminus of the Brussels Metro... Continue Reading →
The first electric tram (streetcar) service on Tenerife – the largest and most heavily populated of the seven Canary Islands -- was inaugurated. (The Canary Islands, an Atlantic archipelago located approximately 60 miles west of the African coast, was made a Spanish province in 1821 and would become an autonomous region of Spain in 1982.)... Continue Reading →
In Italy, a new light rail system opened in the city of Messina on the island of Sicily. The 4.8-mile-long Tranvia di Messina, which replaced a bus line, made its debut more than a half-century after the last tramway network serving one of Sicily’s largest cities had ceased operations. With a rolling stock of 15... Continue Reading →
In 1983, Carmen E. Turner made history as the first African-American woman to lead a major transit agency when she became general manager of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Her appointment to this position also reflected the overall strides being made by women at the time when it came to assuming key leadership... Continue Reading →
The first section of a bus rapid transit system in the Nigerian state of Lagos (in the southwestern part of the nation) began operations. The Lagos Bus Rapid Transit System (Lagos BRT), which is run by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, was inaugurated to help address the ever-increasing traffic congestion challenges facing this region... Continue Reading →
A new station on the Buenos Aires Premetro light rail line on the outskirts of Argentina’s capital city was opened. Nuestra Señora de Fátima station (popularly known as Fátima station), which is located in the Buenos Aires neighborhood (barrio) of Villa Soklati, was the first Premetro station to be opened after service on the line... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 