1 July | • | Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways
and Japan Air Systems started joint shuttle
service between Tokyo and Osaka
|
6 July | • | Boeing announced plan to
develop 747X ultra-high-capacity
passenger aircraft within 6 to 9 months
|
12 July | • | Airbus A310 aircraft belly landed
at Vienna International Airport injuring 26
passengers
|
15 July | • | JR West started electrification
of 84.3-km Ohama Line between Tsuruga
and Higashi Maizuru with completion
scheduled for 2003
|
21 July | • | Sightseeing helicopter owned by
Blue Hawaiian Helicopters crashed on
Maui in Hawaii killing all 7 passengers and
crew
|
25 July | • | Air France Concorde crashed on
takeoff from Roissy-Charles de Gaulle
Airport killing 107 passengers and crew
and 5 people on ground
|
• | Sendai Branch of JR East
opened new JR Sendai Hospital with
attached facility for aged on vacant land
adjacent to old hospital
|
31 July | • | French National Railways TGV
from Paris to Nantes hit cow on line while
running at 220 km/h badly damaging lead
coach and closing line for 3 hours
|
9 August | • | Japan Airlines, All Nippon
Airways, and Japan Air Systems
announced joint Domestic Airlines
Cooperation Web to open in April 2001
selling domestic air tickets using Internet
|
15 August | • | Terrorist bomb planted on
night train exploded in Uttar Pradesh
Province, northern India, killing at least 7
people and injuring about 80
|
16 August | • | Domestic flight of São Paulo
Airlines hijacked by 8 armed men who
robbed passengers and crew of R$6
million carried by bank officials and other
valuables
|
20 August | • | Freight train carrying natural
gas from Mombasa to Nairobi in Kenya
derailed and exploded in Nairobi suburbs
killing 18 nearby residents
|
23 August | • | Airbus A320 of Gulf Air
crashed into ocean before landing at
Bahrain International Airport killing all 143
passengers and crew
|
25 August | • | Japanese Ministry of
Transport included approximately ¥70
million in budget for fiscal 2001 to survey
Kawasaki Municipal Rapid Transit Rail
connecting Shin Yurigaoka on Odakyu Line
and Moto-sumiyoshi of Tokyu Toyoko Line
|
27 August | • | Central span of Kaoping
Bridge in southern Taiwan collapsed
injuring 16 people
|
31 August | • | Japan Airport Terminal Co.,
Ltd., which manages and operates
passenger terminal buildings at Tokyo’s
Haneda Airport, announced basic plan for
East Passenger Terminal Building.
Construction including hotel to start in fall
2001 with opening in late 2003 at total cost
of about ¥50 billion
|
9 September | • | Iwate–Ichinohe Tunnel
under construction by Japan Railway
Construction Public Corporation as part of
Tohoku Shinkansen between Morioka and
Hachinohe broken through from both sides
and now ranked as world’s longest land
tunnel (25.81 km)
|
11 September | • | Tokaido Shinkansen
paralyzed by torrential rains stranding
52,000 passengers in 74 trains
|
16 September | • | Heavy semi-trailer ran
over guardrail of National Route 1 in
Shizuoka onto JR Tokaido Line and hit by
freight train locomotive bringing
southbound line to standstill
|
18 September | • | Groundbreaking ceremony
to reconnect Kyongui Line (Seoul–Shinuiju)
between South Korea and North Korea 50
years after Korean War
|
21 September | • | Japanese Ministry of
Transport approved construction of 4.2-km
Tokoname–Kuko (provisional name) line at
Central Japan International Airport with
operation scheduled to start in March 2005
|
26 September | • | Tokyo’s Eidan Namboku
Line between Tameike-sanno and Meguro
(3.9 km) and Toei Subway Mita Line
between Mita and Meguro (3.9 km)
connected with direct operations to
Musashi-kosugi of Tokyu Meguro Line
|
• | Greek ferry sank off
Paros in Aegian Sea drowning 62 of 510
passengers and crew
|
27 September | • | Attempted hijacker of
China Xinhua Airlines Boeing 737 with 143
passengers stabbed to death by security
crew member
|
28 September | • | Large Taiwanese
container ship stranded on north approach
to Okinawa’s Naha Airport obstructed
landing of 72 flights
|
5 October | • | JR Central opened new
Doctor Yellow shinkansen test car to public
at Hamamatsu Works in Shizuoka
|
14 October | • | Seventeen metropolitan
subways and private railways started
operation of joint Passnet railway card
allowing passage through automatic gates
at any station with shared tracks. However,
JR East preparing own IC card and not
participating in Passnet
|
• | Nagahama Railroad Cultural
Hall opened in Nagahama City, Shiga
Prefecture in Japan’s oldest station
building built in 1870s
|
• | At Tokyo reception, Chinese
Premier Zhu Rongji mentioned desire to
commence work on ¥2 trillion 1310-km highspeed
line between Beijing and Shanghai
during tenth 5-year plan (2001–05)
|
• | Boeing 777 of Saudi
Arabian Airlines heading from Jiddah to
London hijacked over Egypt and diverted
to Baghdad where 103 passengers and
crew released safely
|
17 October | • | Train bound for Leeds
derailed by track fault in London suburbs
killing four people and injuring 80
|
• | JR East announced JR
Going Out Internet site for making train and
hotel reservations on Tokaido and San’yo
shinkansens
|
• | Japan’s Scheduled Airline
Association submitted independent plan to
expand Tokyo International Airport
(Haneda) as third metropolitan airport to
Ministry of Transport
|
18 October | • | US Amtrak announced new
Acela Express train running at 240 km/h
between Washington DC, New York, and
Boston to compete with airline shuttle
services
|
21 October | • | Speed of Asia–Europe Land
Bridge increased with 10-hour cut in time
from Shanghai to Alashankou on China’s
western border and 12-hour cut in time
from Ürümqi to Beijing
|
31 October | • | Boeing 747-400 of
Singapore Airlines crashed on takeoff from
runway under construction at Chiang-Kai
Shek International Airport near Taipei
killing 82 passengers
|
• | Russian Antonov 26
passenger plane exploded in air over
Angola killing 48 passengers and 6 crew
|