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1 June | • | American Airlines MD80 overran
runway on landing at Littlerock, Arkansas,
USA, killing 9 and injuring 80 out of 145
passengers and crew
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4 June | • | Japanese White Paper on Traffic
Safety reported 803,873 traffic accidents
in 1998 (increase of 23,479 over previous
year), marking 6th straight year of record
highs
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| • | Private car collided with express
train on JR Sotobo Line crossing in Chiba
Prefecture, Japan, killing woman and two
children in car
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7 June | • | Bus with about 120 passengers
plunged from bridge into lake in Darangere
district, southern India, killing at least 85
including 11 children
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8 June | • | Japanese White Paper on Tourism
reported 5.9% drop (to 15.81 million) in
Japanese travelling overseas in 1998
compared to previous year, marking first drop
since Gulf War. Reasons cited are economic
recession, future concerns, and weak yen
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9 June | • | Japanese Ministry of Transport
announced new shinkansen line being built
between Morioka and Aomori (107.9 km)
on Tohoku Shinkansen will not be used for
freight transport because existing JR line
to be used for freight after transfer of
ownership from JR East to new third-sector
company
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| • | Aerospatiale AS-350BA
helicopter crashed into Herbert Glacier in
Alaska, USA, killing all 6 tourists on board
and pilot
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20 June | • | Ground-breaking ceremony held
for construction of JR Osaka Outer Loop Line
(approx. 20 km between Shin-Osaka and
Kyuhoji) in Higashi Osaka City. Line
scheduled for completion in 2005 at total cost
of ¥120 billion and incorporating existing JR
West Joto Freight Line to be double-tracked
and electrified
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26 June | • | Joetsu Shinkansen Max stopped
in Ishiuchi Tunnel (3109 m) between Urasa
and Echigo-Yuzawa, Niigata Prefecture for
4 hours because emergency brake
activated. Passengers eventually
transferred to another train on down line
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| • | Deutsche Bahn AG and
Netherlands Railways agreed to establish
integrated freight transport company as well
as tie-up in passenger sector. Operations
to start in 2000–2001 using German ICEs
between Frankfurt and Amsterdam
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27 June | • | Carriage of Hikari San'yo
Shinkansen ripped open for 12 m by
concrete blocks falling from roof of Fukuoka
Tunnel between Kokura and Hakata.
Ministry of Transport issued instructions to
109 railway companies nationwide to check
4451 tunnels (total length of 2728 km) for
other construction defects
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28 June | • | Japanese Ministry of Transport
announced slight increase in 1998
passengers on domestic and international
airlines to 87.91 million (+2.7%) and 16.29
million (+3.8%), respectively, over previous
year
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| • | Subway No. 1 (18.5 km) in
Guangzhou, China opened to full operation
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29 June | • | Number of railway accidents in
1998 in Japan posted record low since 1975,
standing at 939 accidents including train
collisions and crossing accidents (about 50%)
according to Japanese Ministry of Transport.
Number of dead levelled off at 349. In
contrast, Ministry reported 80% increase
(3309 cases) in number of operations
problems over previous year, included
stoppages due to equipment defects
(vehicles, signals, etc.) and natural disasters
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| • | Japanese Ministry of Transport
announced establishment of accident
investigation and research council for large
railway accidents, as well as subcommittee
within transport technology council to
analyze accidents
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1 July | • | Private cable car fell 80 meters to
ground in St. Étienne-en-Dévoluy, southern
France, killing 20 people on board including
staff of space observatory and employees of
telephone company
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8 July | • | All 1339 passengers and crew
rescued from burning Norwegian ferry
Prinsesse Ragnhild in strait off Gotenborg,
Sweden
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13 July | • | Jiro Kawasaki, Japanese Minister
of Transport, unveiled new proposal for law
to be enacted in 2001 facilitating easier
access to public transport for elderly and
wheelchair users
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14 July | • | Second phase of construction
work for second runway (4000 m) at Kansai
International Airport started and scheduled
to open in October 2007
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16 July | • | JR East Cassiopeia express made
debut run between Ueno and Sapporo as
Japan's first all double-decker sleeper with
Class A private sleeping compartments
throughout
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| • | Passenger train en route to New
Delhi ran into back of derailed freight train
in Agra, northern India, killing at least 17
people and injuring more than 170
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23 July | • | All Nippon Airways Flight 61 from
Haneda to Sapporo hijacked by 28-year-old
man with kitchen knife. Captain stabbed to
death when man overpowered by crew and
others
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24 July | • | Small Air Fiji plane crashed into
mountain in Fiji, South Pacific killing all 17 on
board
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2 August | • | Two express trains collided
head-on at Gaisal in eastern India killing at
least 300 of 2000 passengers on two trains
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4 August | • | World's largest floating runway
(1000 m) composed of six floating units with
total width of 121 m and depth of 3 m made
debut in Yokosuka Port, Japan
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11 August | • | Passengers at Haneda Airport
Station on Keihin Express Railway (opened
November 1998) reached 10 million.
Despite continuing passenger decreases on
lines of other companies, Keihin Express
Railway recorded 1% increase thanks to
effect of new station
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17 August | • | Massive 7.8 Richter magnitude
earthquake struck western Turkey killing at
least 12,000 people and injuring 27,176
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| • | Intense summer heat at Tokyo
New International Airport (Narita) softened
runway asphalt, preventing takeoff of heavily
laden British Airways B747-400 and closing
runway for about 40 minutes
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20 August | • | JR Central and Railway
Technical Research Institute invited about
200 parents and children to ride MAGLEV at
451.9 km/h on Yamanashi experimental line
(18.4 km). Experiment repeated on 23 and
24 August
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22 August | • | China Airlines MD11 turned
upside down and caught fire on landing at
Hong Kong International Airport, killing three
people and injuring 211
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23 August | • | Subway train collision at
Christoph Strasse Station in Cologne,
Germany, injured about 70 passengers and
crew
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24 August | • | Lightning strike on power substation
halted about 400 trains on 12 major
lines during Tokyo rush hour stranding about
480,000 passengers
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| • | Fire onboard Taiwan's UNI
Airlines MD 90 flying from Tai-pei injured 28
passengers
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25 August | • | B-737 Moroccan airliner flying
from Casablanca to Tunis hijacked and flown
to Barcelona where hijacker surrendered
without harming 88 passengers or crew
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27 August | • | Toyota Motor Co. announced
testing of Intelligent Multi-mode Transit
Systems (IMTS) to connect several buses
electronically and operate like trains over
medium/long distances and like ordinary
buses over short distances
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29 August | • | Yokohama Municipal Subway
Line No. 1 became longest single subway line
in Japan (40.4 km) with opening of extension
between Totsuka and Shonandai (7.4 km)
after construction period of 5 years and 6
months at total cost of ¥165 billion. Subway
connects with Odakyu Electric Railway's
Enoshima Line and Sagami Railway Line at
Enoshima
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31 August | • | Boeing 737 of LAPA airlines of
Argentina bound from Buenos Aires to
Cordoba, crashed into nearby golf course on
landing at Jorge Newberry Airport, killing at
least 69 passengers and crew
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