1 March | •
| Nagoya Railroad (Meitetsu) submitted closure notice and application to shut (on 31 March 2005) 12.7-km Ibi Line (Chusetsu–Kurono), 10.9-km Shinai and Tagami lines, and 13-km Minomachi Line (Hinobashi–Sekima) in Gifu Prefecture |
6 March | •
| Saemaeul express train (16 cars) bound for Pusan from Seoul derailed at Sechun Station in Taejon |
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| Water taxi capsized in Baltimore, Maryland, drowning two people and leaving three missing |
11 March | •
| Three terrorist bombs exploded almost simultaneously on commuter trains in Madrid, Spain, killing about 200 people and injuring over 1700 |
16 March | •
| Advanced Airport Systems Technology Research Consortium, comprising Narita Airport Authority (NAA, now Narita International Airport Corp.) and various airlines started trial of Hands-free Travel Service (full scale from 2006), allowing luggage with embedded IC chip to be picked up at home and permitting luggage-free travel to international destination airport |
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| All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Suruga Bank announced world's first integration of ATM cards, mileage cards, and electronic money with start of new housing loan service that earns mileage points |
22 March | •
| JR East started new service enabling use of SUICA smart-card rail pass for shopping and other payments at some 200 convenience stores and shops in stations in Kanto region and Sendai City |
23 March | •
| Noto Railway Company announced closure of 61-km Noto Line (Anamizu–Takojima) on 31 March 2005, following March 2001 closure of Anamizu–Wajima section of 20.4-km Nanao Line and leaving only 33.1-km Nanao–Anamizu section of Nanao Line in operation |
24 March | •
| Tokyo Metro held first general meeting in advance of privatization of Teito Rapid Transit Authority (TRTA) on 1 April |
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| Completion ceremony held for Central Japan International Airport with single 3500-m runway in Ise Bay off coast of Tokoname City in Aichi Prefecture with opening by February 2005 |
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| Third-sector company to take over JR West 8-km Toyama-ko Line (Toyama–Iwasehama) from FY2006 with start of tram operations announced new name of Toyama Light Rail |
27 March | •
| NASA set new world jet speed record with speed of Mach 7 (about 8000 km/h) with unmanned test flight of X43A experimental craft powered by ramjet |
30 March | •
| Opening ceremony held for KTX high-speed railway using French TGV technology before start of 300-km/h operations on Kyongbu (Seoul–Pusan) and Honam (Seoul–Mokpo) lines |
31 March | •
| Meitetsu closed 16.4-km Hekinan–Kira Yoshida section and 8.6-km Sanage–Nishi Nakagane section of Mikawa Line in Aichi Prefecture |
1 April | •
| NAA managing and operating New Tokyo International Airport (Narita) and TRTA privatized respectively as Narita International Airport Corporation and Tokyo Metro |
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| German ICE traian collided with tractor on tracks in Baden-Württemberg, injuring tractor and train drivers and one passenger |
2 April | •
| US government announced biometric identifications such as fingerprints and photographs required of all tourists and short-stay visitors from 27 visa-exempt countries |
7 April | •
| US-based Continental Airlines announced complete switch to electronic tickets by year-end in order to reduce costs |
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| Eurotunnel board unseated by revolt of individual shareholders to lose control of company managing Channel Tunnel |
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| WHO and World Bank reported world total of 1.183 million traffic deaths (3342 per day) in 2002 |
8 April | •
| Tokyo Air Traffic Control System of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT) offline for 2.5 hours throwing air schedules into turmoil |
12 April | •
| Japan National Tourist Organization (JNTO) announced 19.5% year-on-year drop (to 3.22 million) in 2003 departures from Japan due to effects of concerns about SARS, terrorism, and poor Japanese economy; 5.21 million (-0.5%) foreigners visited Japan in same period |
13 April | •
| JR East announced intended introduction of mobile phone with built-in SUICA prepaid smart-card train pass in late FY2005 |
14 April | •
| MLIT announced Plan for Promotion of Removal of Utility Poles, calling for removal of utility poles and power lines from about 3000 km of main roads in urban areas between FY2004 and FY2005 with aim of improving appearance of urban and tourist locations to make Japan more popular tourist destination |
18 April | •
| Chinese Railway Ministry revised train schedules with introduction of non-stop, high-speed (160 km/h) express between Beijing and Shanghai, reducing travel time between two cities by about 2 hours |
19 April | •
| Meitetsu and Central Japan International Airport Line Railway Co., Ltd. announced provisional opening of railway connecting Central Japan International Airport and Nagoya Station in about 30 minutes from mid-October 2004; access restricted to people involved with airport |
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| Trains collided in tunnel at New York's Pennsylvania Station, injuring at least 130 |
27 April | •
| JR East and JR West announced agreement permitting 8.83 million users of JR East's SUICA smart-card train pass and 1.2 million users of JR West's ICOCA smart-card train pass to use passes on each other's lines from August 2004 |
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| Power cut stopped Tokaido Shinkansen between Mishima and Shizuoka in Fuji City, Shizuoka Prefecture for about 2.5 hours |
4 May | •
| Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines announced merger as Air France–KLM, becoming Europe's largest airline |
9 May | •
| Ground-breaking ceremony in Istanbul to mark start of construction of 11.3-km undersea subway tunnel crossing Bosporus Straight, linking European and Asian sides of Istanbul with planned opening in 2009 |
11 May | •
| Four-day operation to preserve JR West's Nara Station as cultural asset by relocating entire station on rails as part of project to elevate line |
14 May | •
| Passenger plane crashed in Amazon River basin in western Manaus, Brazil, killing all 33 people on board |
16 May | •
| Turin-bound train derailed in northern Italy, killing one passenger and injuring 37 |
18 May | •
| Azerbaijan cargo plane crashed near Urumqi Airport in western China, killing all seven crew |
23 May | •
| Glass roof of Satellite E at Terminal 2 of Charles De Gaulle Airport collapsed, killing four people and seriously injuring three |
25 May | •
| First 12-car train set for Taiwan Shinkansen (345 km, Taipei–Gaoxiong), unloaded at Gaoxiong Port in Taiwan after construction in Japan by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd., Hitachi Ltd., and Nippon Sharyo, Ltd. with trials starting in September 2004 and opening scheduled for October 2005 |
31 May | •
| MLIT announced joint use of Terminal 2 at Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) from 1 December 2004 with Tokyo Monorail to construct Haneda Airport Terminal 2 Station |
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| Fire on Seattle Center Monorail in Washington injured nine people due to smoke inhalation |