| 5 May | •
| International Air Transport Association (IATA) forecast Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) to cause worldwide airline industry combined losses of US$10 billion this year |
| 6 May | •
| International air travel during Japan's Golden Week holidays (25 April–5 May) fell to 140,000 passengers (lowest level since 1988) due to poorly spaced holidays and SARS fears |
| 8 May | •
| German tourist bus hit by train in western Hungary, killing 33 and injuring five |
| 12 May | •
| Passenger train hit crane working on elevated track in Pusan, South Korea, killing one and injuring eight |
| 15 May | •
| Express train caught fire in northern Indian state of Punjab, killing 38 and injuring 13 |
| 17 May | •
| German long-distance passenger bus bound for Spain hit embankment on expressway in outskirts of Lyon, France, killing at least 28 and injuring 40 |
| 26 May | •
| Toyama City decided to convert JR West's Toyama-ko Line to tramway with operator to be determined by year end |
| •
| Sanriku Minami Earthquake jolted Tohoku region of Japan with epicentre off coast of Miyagi Prefecture, causing damage to 23 concrete pillars supporting elevated tracks of Tohoku Shinkansen and closing line from Sendai to Hachinohe for 1 day |
| 30 May | •
| Saemaul express train bound for city of Mokpo from Seoul derailed in central South Korean city of Taejon, injuring 37 |
| 3 June | •
| Spanish National Railways (RENFE) passenger train collided with freight train near Albacete, in south-eastern Spain, killing at least 22 passengers and injuring 38 |
| 6 June | •
| Small aircraft crashed into three-storey apartment building near Hollywood, California, killing pilot and three residents, and injuring seven others |
| 9 June | •
| City of Sendai applied to Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT) to refurbish Tozai subway line (approx. 14 km between Dobutsu-koen and Arai) at cost about ¥273.5 billion with aim of using linear motor trains by end of 2003 |
| 10 June | •
| MLIT released FY2002 Tourism White Paper reporting 5.24 million foreigners visited Japan in 2002 (9.8% increase over 2001), putting number of foreign visitors above 5 million for first time. Meanwhile, 16.52 million Japanese (1.9% year-on-year increase) travelled overseas in same period. White paper states government goal of doubling number of foreign visitors to 10 million by 2010 |
| 11 June | •
| Two trains collided head-on on single-track line in Schrozberg in southern Germany, killing six passengers and crew and injuring 25 |
| 14 June | •
| Ceremonies held at two locations on Korean militarized border to commemorate linking of Kyongui and Donghae lines between North and South Korea. Although Kyongui Line to connect with Trans-China Railway, and Donghae Line to connect with Trans-Siberian Railroad, no fixed completion set yet |
| •
| Kasato Works of Hitachi, Ltd. unveiled completed Series 800 Tsubame to run on Shin Yatsushiro–Nishi Kagoshima section of Kyushu Shinkansen when opened in March 2004 after test operations from September 2003 |
| 16 June | •
| Kawasaki City Mayor announced 5-year delay to start of construction of Kawasaki Urban Rapid Transit (Shin Yurigaoka–Kawasaki) due to difficult fiscal situation and adverse public reaction to plan |
| 22 June | •
| Train derailed in western India, killing 24 and injuring about 20 people |
| 27 June | •
| JR Central and JR West announced joint development of next-generation N700 shinkansen based on Series 700 with commercial operation on Tokaido and San'yo shinkansen planned from autumn 2007 |
| 28 June | •
| World's longest steel-arched Lu Pu Bridge (550 m) opened in Shanghai, China at total construction cost of about ¥32 billion |
| 6 July | •
| Four-car train hit landslide and derailed in Andhra Pradesh, southern India, killing guard and injuring 22 passengers |
| •
| Freight train collided with truck stalled on tracks near Cairo, Egypt, killing 10 people |
| 8 July | •
| Japan Association for 2005 World Exposition acquired category-1 railway licence to operate magnetic-induction Intelligent Multimode Transit System (IMTS) at Expo 2005 Aichi from 25 March to 25 September 2005 using buses following dedicated route controlled by magnetic markers |
| •
| Overloaded ferry with more than 600 people on board sank in Meghna River in south-east Bangladesh, drowning at least 150 |
| 9 July | •
| Yokohama Minatomirai Railway and Tokyu Corporation announced start of operations on Minatomirai 21 Line (4.1 km) from 1 February 2004 between Yokohama and Motomachi/Chinatown with direct connections to Tokyu's Toyoko Line and closure of Yokohama–Sakuragicho section |
| 11 July | •
| Japanese Diet passed Narita Airport Privatization Law with Narita Airport Authority to become wholly government-owned company from 4 April 2004 and public listing on Tokyo Stock Exchange within 3 years |
| 18 July | •
| Six-car express train on JR Kyushu's Nagasaki main line overturned after hitting small boulder on tracks near Isahaya City, Nagasaki Prefecture, injuring guard and 32 passengers |
| 19 July | •
| Light charter plane crashed on Mt Kenya in Kenya, killing both pilots and 12 tourists |
