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9 February | • | Japanese fishery training
ship Ehime maru sunk by surfacing US
Navy nuclear submarine Greenbill,
drowning nine people on board
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| • | Chinese government
approved 1,118-km railway construction
project connecting Golmud in Qinhai
Province and Lhasa in Tibet Autonomous
Region with 960 km of line at 4000 m or
more above sea level
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|
16 February | • | International passenger
charter flights started from Tokyo
International Airport (Haneda) using free
slots at late night and early morning hours
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|
28 February | • | InterCity express train from
Newcastle bound for Kings Cross Station
in London and freight train derailed by fourwheel
drive Land Rover that had skidded
onto tracks killing 15 people
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|
4 March | • | Bridge over R. Douro in
Northern Portugal collapsed leaving 70
people missing
|
|
7 March | • | JR East announced project to
pump pure underground spring water from
tunnel on Sobu Line in metropolitan Tokyo
into R. Tachiai running through Shinagawa
Ward to improve river water quality
|
| • | Kinki Nippon Tourist Co., Ltd.,
and Nippon Travel Agency Co., Ltd.,
agreed to merge in January 2003 and
established new company called Tabi
Kikaku (Trip Planning) with largest
shareholders, Kinki Nippon Railway and
JR West to prepare for merger
|
|
13 March | • | Revised JR Bill to promote full
privatization of JR East, JR Central and
JR West submitted to National Diet. Bill
allows autonomous management of
finances, personnel, business plans, etc.,
with sale of all remaining 2.02 million
government-held shares by autumn 2001
|
| • | Ministry of Land, Infrastructure
and Transport announced 2000 air
transport statistics with 92.89 million
domestic passengers (+2.5% over 1999)
and 927,597 tonnes (+5.0%) of freight.
International passengers numbered 19.21
million (+9.5%) with 1.183 million tonnes
of freight (+6.1%)
|
|
15 March | • | Russian Vnukovo Airlines
Tupolev 154 from Istanbul to Moscow
hijacked by four Chechens and landed at
Medina, Saudi Arabia. Saudi special
forces made daring rescue but two
hostages and one hijacker killed
|
|
16 March | • | Series-0 shinkansen carriage
shipped from Hakata Port of Fukuoka City
as donation by JR West to National
Railway Museum in York, England
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|
17 March | • | Locomotive and wagon of
freight train derailed in early morning near
Tsurumi Station on JR Tokaido Freight
Line, disabling power lines and stopping
175 Tokaido main line trains for 12 hours
|
|
18 March | • | Amtrak train from Chicago
bound for Emeryville, California, derailed
near Des Moines, lowa killing one person
and injuring 90
|
|
27 March | • | Keio Electric Railway started
women-only car service on express trains
leaving Shinjuku Station in Tokyo after
23:00 to prevent risk of late-night sexual
harassment
|
| • | Two trains collided head on
near Pecrot, Belgium killing at least 8
people
|
|
28 March | • | Saitama Railway Corporation
(Urawa-misono–Akabane-iwabuchi, 14.6
km) started subway operation between
Saitama Prefecture and Tokyo by through
operation with Teito Rapid Transit Authority
Subway Namboku Line
|
|
29 March | • | Inchon International Airport
opened about 50 km west of Seoul, Korea
with two 3750-m runways
|
| • | Boeing Corporation freezes
development of ultra-high-capacity 747X
and announces full-scale development of
medium-size airplane travelling near
speed of sound
|
| • | Nagano Electric Railroad
(Meitetsu) filed notice to close 12.9-km
Kijima Line (Shinshu-nakano–Kijima) by
late March 2002 with Niigata Transport
Bureau of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure
and Transport
|
|
31 March | • | Third-sector Ohata Line
(Shimokita–Ohata, 18.0 km) of Shimokita
Transport in Shimokita Peninsula, a
northern most Honshu, and Wajima–
Anamizu Line (20.4 km) of Noto Railway
on Noto Peninsula both closed due to lack
of passengers
|
|
5 April | • | Third-sector company, Man’yo
Line Co., Ltd. established to take over
management of 12.8-km Man’yo Line of
Kaetsuno Railway connecting Takaoka
City and Shinminato City in Toyama
Prefecture by tram
|
|
8 April | • | JR East started 3-month test of
IC Super Urban Intelligent Card (SUICA)
at 27 stations on Saikyo Line, allowing
10,000 volunteer card holders to pass
without feeding cards through automatic
ticket gates
|
| • | Two-car runaway train on Iizaka
Line of Fukushima Transport crashed into
building at Fukushima Station, injuring
three passengers, driver and conductor
|
|
9 April | • | American Airlines holding
company AMR announced acquisition of
bankrupt Trans World Airline (TWA) to
become world’s largest airline company
|
|
12 April | • | Japan National Tourist
Organization (JNTO) reported 17.819
million (+8.9% over 1999) Japanese
traveled overseas in 2000 with 4.755
million (+7.2%) foreigners visiting Japan.
Most popular destinations were USA (5.07
million) followed by Korea (2.38 million)
and China (1.46 million)
|
|
20 April | • | Kawasaki City filed application
with Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and
Transport for approval to construct
Kawasaki Municipal Rapid Transit Rail
subway between Shin Yurigaoka on
Odakyu Line and Moto-sumiyoshi on
Tokyu Toyoko Line by 2011
|
|
22 April | • | Singapore Airlines started
world’s first onboard email service
|
|
25 April | • | Ministry of Land, Infrastructure
and Transport approved application from
Japan Railway Construction Public
Corporation to start new construction of
Joetsu–Toyama (110 km) section of
Hokuriku Shinkansen, and Hakata–
Shinyashiro (130 km) and Shinyashiro–
Nishi Kagoshima (127 km) sections of
Kyushu Shinkansen
|
|
26 April | • | Mr Junichiro Koizumi elected
new Prime Minister of Japan with Ms
Chikage Ogi remaining in post of Minister
of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
|
|
27 April | • | JR East, Japan Airlines and
Japan Tourist Board opened Station Net
Travel (http://www.tabi.eki-net.com) Web
site for providing travel information, and
booking JR tickets, plane tickets, hotels,
etc.
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