Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
July 3, 1905 In the northern part of London, an international electric tramway and railway exhibition was opened in the Royal Agricultural Hall in the inner-city area of Islington. This event, which would continue until July 14, was the third of its kind to be held at that location. The first of these exhibitions took... Continue Reading →
June 26, 2016 A major transit center at 201 East Washington Street in Indianapolis first went into regular service. This facility was named after Julia M. Carson, who served as a member of the U.S. Representatives from 1997 until her death in 2007 at the age of 69. She was both the first woman and... Continue Reading →
June 9, 1994 Operations formally began that afternoon at Cincinnati/Norther Kentucky International Airport (CVG) for an automated people mover. This underground train service was originally run by Delta Air Lines to help more quickly transport large numbers of passengers to the concourses where they would need to catch their flights within that Kentucky-based airport. Judy... Continue Reading →
June 3, 2017 Construction began on a regional rail station in Boston’s Mattapan neighborhood. This station, which is located on Blue Hill Avenue at Woodhaven Street, was built as part of the Fairmount Line of the MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority) Commuter Rail system. Blue Hill Avenue station was opened for regular service on... Continue Reading →
May 21, 2018 Operations officially began for an airport rail link in the Indonesian province of West Sumatra. This transit service was inaugurated by Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (born in 1961), who was president of Indonesia from 2014 to 2024. The link was built to reduce travel time between Padang, West Sumatra’s capital and largest city;... Continue Reading →
May 20, 2022 A streetcar line in central Arizona’s city of Tempe was opened for regular operations. This transit system is operated by the Valley Metro regional Public Transportation Authority (better known as Valley Metro), which serves that area of the Grand Canyon State. Construction on the Valley Metro Streetcar -- also called the Tempe... Continue Reading →
May 9, 2006 A newly built station of the Sáo Paulo Metro (popularly known as the Metrô), one of the rapid transit systems serving the capital of Brazil, was opened in the Chácara Klabin neighborhood of the city’s south-central area. Chácara Klabin station made its debut as part of Line 2 (Green) of the Metrô.... Continue Reading →
April 30, 1978A special preview run took place for a passenger train that would serve a recently authorized commuter rail line between Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. This train was named the Chesapeake. It was one of three trains, each with four cars, leased by the Maryland Department of Transportation for Amtrak to operate on the... Continue Reading →
April 28, 1980 In the Canadian province of Quebec, Georges-Vanier station in southwest Montreal’s Little Burgundy neighborhood first went into service. This station was one of three built on the Orange Line of the Montreal Metro to be opened on the same day. Georges-Vanier station was named after a boulevard in that part of Montreal.... Continue Reading →
April 9, 1961 The California-based Pacific Electric (PE) mass transit system ended its operations after nearly six decades of serving the Greater Los Angeles Area. At its zenith during the 1920s, this network was the world’s largest electric railway system. More than 2,100 PE interurban trains covered about 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometers) of tracks altogether, providing... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 