Japan Railway & Transport Review No. 56 (topics)

Topics
January–June 2010

2 January •Japan’s National Police Agency announced 2009 road accident fatalities dropped below 5000 mark for first time in 57 years with decrease of 241 deaths over previous year to 4914 and attributed to decrease in drunk driving and higher seatbelt usage
2 January • Two train collisions in Uttar Pradesh, N. India caused by dense fog and power cut killed 6 passengers and injured 27 others
3 January • Collapse of new bridge under construction at airport near Kunming, China, killed 7 workers and injured 34 others
4 January • EU announced plans to revise regulations governing introduction of full-body scanners for passengers at airports as anti-terror measure; since last year, airport authorities in Holland, Nigeria, France, UK, Korea, etc., decided on introduction, requiring revision of EU privacy laws; EU previously dropped plan for revision due to privacy concerns
4 January • Dubai (UAE) celebrated opening of world’s tallest building called Burj Khalifa at 828-m high with 160 floors, offering luxury hotel, restaurants, shopping mall, etc; new tower far higher than 508-m Taipei 101 bldg, which becomes second tallest in world
5 January • Light plane crashed just before landing in outskirts of Chicago, Illinois, killing 2 people onboard
5 January • Heavy snow of 3.1-m depth and strong winds in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China delayed arrival of train with 1400 passengers and crew by 30 hours
7 January • Signalling fault in France caused Eurostar to stop in Channel Tunnel between England and France and required rescue train to haul stopped train from tunnel
10 January • Helicopter crash during dense fog in Mexico killed 4 members of well-known wealthy family and pilot
10 January • United Airlines Airbus A319 landed successfully at Newark Airport, New York, without injuring passengers after landing gear on right side failed to come down
12 January • Magnitude 7.0 earthquake near Port Au Prince, Haiti, caused massive damage, leaving some 220,000 people dead and more than 400,000 homeless
12 January • Airbus announced seventh consecutive increase and highest-ever delivery of 498 planes for 2009 (15 more than 2008), and 17 planes more than rival Boeing (481 planes) but forward orders dropped by 60% and 80% for both companies (declining to 10% level of Boeing orders in 2007)
12 January • Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) opened world’s third highest new control tower (115.7 m) offshore from new fourth runway (2500 m); “terminal radar control” system, previously operated separately in Narita and Haneda, centralized at Haneda
12 January • Fishing boat with 10 crew lost between Goto and Fukue islands, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan with no sign of crew
19 January • Financially troubled JAL applied for bankruptcy protection while restructuring business following losses of $23 billion—second largest ever loss for non-financial Japanese business; President Haruka Nishimatsu resigned and replaced as CEO by Kyocera Honorary President Kazuo Inamori from 1 February
19 January • Korea’s Lotte Group announced business partnership with Universal Studio Korea Resort (USKR) to build film theme park in Hwaseong-shi, Gyeonggi-do near Seoul to open in March 2011 with studios, hotels, large shopping mall, apartments, golf course, etc.
20 January • Eurostar announced 1.7% year-on-year increase in 2009 sales to reach £675.5 million; tourism sales increased by 15.6% and passenger numbers grew by 1.2% to 9.2 million with 6% growth between London and Brussels and 1% between London and Paris
21 January • Japanese government held High-Speed Rail Seminar in Washington DC with Minister for Land, Infrastructure, Transport Tourism as well as JR East President to promote sales of shinkansen technology for US high-speed railway network proposed by Obama administration
21 January • Olympic Line tramway (1.8 km) opened in Vancouver, Canada to support 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics with free 2-car trainset loaned by City of Brussels, Belgium; will operate until 21 March 2011 with free fare
23 January • Train derailed near Mashhad, northern Iran, killing at least 8 people and injuring 15
24 January • Domestic Tupolev 154 aircraft with 170 passengers and crew crashed and burned on landing at Mashhad Airport, northern Iran, injuring 46 people
24 January • Heavy rains caused landslide near Machu Picchu World Heritage Site in southern Peru cutting railway links to Cuzco and stranding about 2000 tourists
25 January • JR Central announced sales exhibition to promote exports of high-speed railway systems for seven US railroads, including Tampa–Florida (530 km); Las Vegas–Los Angeles (440 km) as well as maglev services for Baltimore–Washington DC (65 km) and Chattanooga–Atlanta (200 km)
25 January • Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-800 (with 90 passengers and crew) crashed near Beirut, Lebanon, killing all onboard
25 January • Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) announced 18.7% year-on-year drop in inbound 2009 tourism to 6.78 million people due to effects of world recession, high-value yen, influenza fears, etc., and worst double-digit drop since 1986 decline caused by high yen; outbound tourism dropped for third consecutive year to 15.44 million (–3.4%)
26 January • JR Kyushu announced start of Kyushu Shinkansen between Hakata and Yashiro (130 km) from March 2011
28 January • President Obama announced plans to build 13 highs-peed lines across US at cost of $8 billion to stimulate economy; possible routes are Tampa–Orlando–Miami in Florida ($1.2 billion), and San Francisco–Los Angeles–San Diego in California ($2.25 billion)
29 January • Catenary/pantograph fault on down line of Tokaido Shinkansen near Yokohama stopped services between Shinagawa and Odawara, stranding about 3100 passengers in 5 trains for 3 hours 20 minutes and delaying 190 services for up to 4 hours 20 minutes with 56 services cancelled
29 January • 5-car trainset belonging to JR Hokkaido hit truck on crossing of Hakodate main line, injuring truck driver and 41 passengers; service resumed following day at noon

MILESTONES 

Mineo Yamamoto
ANA Vice-Chairman and ex-President Mineo Yamamoto died 28 January aged 64. Joined ANA in 1970 after graduating in law from University of Kyoto and held posts of Managing

Yoshiomi Yamada
JR Central Vice-President Yoshiomi Yamada appointed JR Central President on 29 January and took office on 1 April. Joined old JNR in 1971 after graduating in law from Tokyo University and held posts of Managing Director, Executive Director, Head of General Planning, etc., before becoming Vice-President in 2004; previous President Masayuki Matsumoto to become Vice-Chairman; Yoshiyuki Kasai remains as chairman


1 February • Track laying for high-speed passenger railway line between Shanghai and Nanking (300 km) started with completion expected on 1 July
2 February • Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism announced plans for removing tolls on 37 sections of national expressway network in smaller cities such as Shimane and Hokkaido, excluding major central cities
6 February • High-speed passenger Zhengzhou–Xi’an Line (505 km) opened between Xi’an and Zengzhou in China with operations at 350 km/h as one section of future line extension between Xuzhou and Lanzhou
6 February • Two light aircraft (Piper and Cirrus) collided over Boulder, Colorado, USA, killing all three people on both planes
8 February • Large, long-distance bus ran off road and overturned in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, killing 8 people and injuring 49 others
9 February • Death toll from massive January earthquake in Haiti put at more than 230,000 dead, surpassing death toll from December 2004 Sumatran earthquake and tsunami
9 February • Restructuring JAL announced strengthened ties with American Airlines in One World Alliance and revised business tie-up with Delta
9 February • Australian government announced plans to introduce full body scanners for all international passengers at airports in Australia from November this year
10 February • Massive recurrent avalanches nor th of Kabul, Afghanistan, killed 170 people and stranded 500 others
12 February • JAL and American Airlines announced application to US Dept of Transportation for exemption from anti-trust laws, enabling both carriers to adjust services and schedules for important sectors; All Nippon Airways and United already applied for similar exemption
13 February • Power cable fell on bus in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, electrocuting at least 20 passengers and passerby during heavy rains
15 February • Head-on collision between commuter trains in outskirts of Brussels, Belgium, killed 18 passengers and injured 162 others, causing serious delays and cancellations to international services between London, Brussels and Paris; service to London closed for 16 days
16 February • Five US airlines applied for new slots at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport to allow total of 11 new services between Japan and US as agreed by both countries in discussions to liberalize Japan/US air market prior to opening of fourth runway at Haneda in October allowing late night and early morning services
18 February • Light aircraft struck seventh floor of 18-floor federal government building in Austin, Texas, USA, killing two people and injuring 13 others
18 February • IATA announced 18% year-on-year drop in aircraft accidents for 2009 to 90 with accident rate of 0.71 per 1 million flights by aircraft in developed countries— second lowest rate following 0.65 for 2006; fatal accidents dropped to 18 or 5 less than previous year, but total deaths increased by 183 to 685 due to fewer but larger disasters
19 February • United Airlines B747-400 bound for Narita Airport, Japan, from Washington DC hit by turbulence over Alaska, injuring 16 people onboard; plane reached Narita on schedule
19 February • Minaret of 400-year-old mosque in Morocco collapsed during prayers, killing at least 40 people and injuring 71 others
21 February • JR Hokkaido demonstrated Train on Train (ToT) prototype at Naebo Works in Sapporo for piggybacking conventional freight wagons on shinkansen designed to pass through Seikan Tunnel between Hokkaido and Honshu and alleviate current congestion in schedule for shinkansen and conventional services
21 February • Single-engine aircraft crashed into house in Illinois, killing both people onboard but residents unscathed
22 February • As part of Greek government financial restructuring following debt crisis, two major airlines—privatized Olympic Airlines and Aegis Airlines—announced merger to become Olympic Airlines if merger approved by EU commissioners
26 February • Explosion at large fireworks plant in Puning, Guandong, China, destroyed nearby houses, killing at least 20 people and injuring 49 others
27 February • Richter Magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck Pacific coast of Chile near Concepcion, causing widespread damage and unknown number of deaths
28 February • Tsunami waves up to 1.2-m high from Chilean earthquake reached Japan coast, causing stoppage of some coastal railway lines in north-east and west Japan
28 February • Bus ran into dam lake near Zengzhou City, China, drowning 3 people, with 7 rescued and 10 others missing
28 February • Severe storms in W. Europe left at least 53 people dead following high tides on Atlantic coast of France and gale-force winds through Germany


MILESTONES 

Kazuo Inamori
Kyocera Honorary Chairman Kazuo Inamori appointed CEO of JAL from 1 February to oversee company reconstruction. Established Kyocera in 1959 after graduating in engineering from Kagoshima University, becoming President in 1966 and Chairman in 1985. Also held post of Chairman of KDDI and lead deregulation of telecommunications market as well as established Inamori Foundation with own funds Masaru Oonishi appointed COO of JAL from 1 February.
Joined JAL in 1978 after graduating in Engineering from University of Tokyo and held various senior posts in planning division before becoming President of Japan AirCommuter, etc.


1 March • Massive landslide in Uganda, Africa, swept away several villages, leaving at least 106 people dead and 245 others missing
1 March • Flooding in coal mine near Wuhai, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, left 1 miner dead, 31 missing and presumed dead, and 45 rescued
3 March • Air France announced plan to operate Airbus A380 on Paris–Narita route from summer 2010, making it second carrier after Singapore Airlines to operate A380 to Japan
3 March • Federal Aviation Agency announced suspension of traffic controller and superior at John F. Kennedy Airport for allowing controller’s child to speak with aircraft making landing approach
3 March • Crash of military trainer at India Aircraft show in Hyderabad, killed pilot and copilot and injured 2 people on ground
4 March • US Government introduced $10 charge as ESTA processing fee for foreigners entering US without visa as so-called “Tourism Promotion Fee”; some say this is hidden visa fee
4 March • Gate collapsed during ceremony at temple in Uttar Pradesh State, India, crushing 63 women and children to death
4 March • About 40 vessels trapped by ice in Baltic Sea south of Sweden freed by icebreaker from Sweden
4 March • Light aircraft crashed on house in Louisa, Virginia, USA, killing pilot but resident unscathed
5 March • Unlicensed, long-distance bus collided with small truck and overturned outside Phoenix, Arizona, killing 6 passengers and injuring 16 others
6 March • World War II era AT6 training aircraft crashed at Miramar Beach, Florida, USA, killing 2 people onboard
8 March • Richter Magnitude 5.9 earthquake in south Turkey killed 51 people and injured 34 others
9 March • Kagoshima City, Japan, announced introduction of ‘lawnmower train’ in May. New train to run on grassed tramway tracks (13.1 km), which started in 2006 as visually appealing countermeasure to heat-island effect and global warming, with track to be completed in FY 2012
10 March • Landslide in Yulin, Shaanxi Province, China swept away condominium, leaving 10 people dead and 18 missing
11 March • New airport opened at Omitama City in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, using new runway constructed on Japan Self Defense Force base with one return service each day to Seoul (ASEANA Air) and Kobe from April
11 March • IATA announced decrease in forecast 2010 losses of major world airlines to $2.8 billion from 2009 loss of $9.4 billion due to recovery in world demand for air travel
11 March • British government announced plans to construct high-speed railway line between London and Manchester with ground-breaking ceremony in 2017 and first section to Birmingham and then extensions to Manchester, Leeds, etc.
13 March • Chinese government announced plans to extend high-speed rail network to 9000 km by 2012 with 3670 km of tracks operating at speeds of 250 km/h or more to reach world’s longest rail network at 13,000 km
14 March • Chinese government announced permit to construct 175-km high-speed linear maglev called Shanghai SMT between Shanghai and Hangzhou with completion scheduled for 2014 but some criticism that running maglev on this section will only save 10 minutes compared to journey by conventional high-speed rail
15 March • Bus collided with car stopped on bridge in Rajasthan, India, and ran over guard rail into river below, drowning at least 26 people and injuring 34 others
15 March • Fire in illegally-operated coalmine in Henan, China, killing 25 of 31 miners with 6 others escaping injury
17 March • Japanese government announced major expansion of loans offered by JBIC (Japan Bank for International Cooperation) with aim of promoting Japanese industrial exports such as shinkansen high-speed railways. Government to rewrite relevant legislative decree in April
22 March • Ceremony held at Kumamoto Station of JR Kyushu marking completion of Hakata to Kagoshima section (257 km) of Kyushu Shinkansen as part of entire Kyushu Shinkansen network expected to be completed in March 2011
22 March • Tupolev 204 belonging to Aviastar crashed in forest near Domodedovo Airport, Moscow, Russia, injuring 8 crew
24 March • Unmanned, 16-wagon freight train derailed outside Oslo, Norway, and struck warehouse, killing at least 3 people and injuring 4 others
25 March • Rescue helicopter crashed in west Tennessee, USA, killing 3 people onboard
25 March • Keihan Railway and Neyagawa City announced plans to restore limited express Biwakogo articulated cars, which linked Osaka and Shiga; restored train to operate on Keihan main line within 5 years; first entered service in 1934 as two 3-car train sets but retired in 1970 and stored in Neyagawa Rolling Stock Works
25 March • JR Freight exhibited hybrid diesel freight locomotive (HD300-901) now in development using hybrid power locomotive consisting of diesel engine generator and storage batteries to cut exhaust gas emissions by more than 30% to 40% and noise by more than 10%
28 March • Terrorist suicide bombs exploded on Moscow Metro, Russia, killing 40 people and injuring at least 80 others; first bomb explosion since February 2004
28 March • Flooding in coal mine in Shaanxi Province, China, stranded 153 miners underground with 115 subsequently rescued 5 and 8 days later
31 March • Gas explosion in coal mine in Luoyang, Henan, China, killed 12 miners, injured 2 others, and stranded 32 more underground; manager responsible for illegal mining operation fled scene after accident


4 April • Terrorist bomb planted on railway line in Republic of Dagestan, southern Russia, derailed freight train and overturned 5 wagons but no deaths or injuries
5 April • Explosion in coalmine, W Virginia, USA, killed 25 miners and left 4 missing as worst US mine disaster in 25 years— British Airways and Iberia announced completion of business merger by year end through establishment of joint-stock company, creating world’s third largest airline company
8 April • Tokushima Airport in Tokushima, Japan, announced completion of 2500-m runway capable of handling large commercial jets if necessary but no concrete operation plans yet
10 April • Tupolev 154 carrying Polish Prime Minister, wife, and Polish Cabinet crashed outside Smolensk, Russia, killing all 97 people on board
11 April • Large glacial lake formed in Andes mountains some 320 m north of Lima, Peru, overflowed, creating 23-m high tidal wave and leaving at least 3 people missing
11 April • Jumbo 747-400 presidential jet leased from Korean Air debuted on S Korean President Lee Myung-bak’s visit to USA
12 April • Train derailed by landslide in northern Italy, killing at least 9 passengers with 28 others injured
13 April • Airfreight Airbus A300 belonging to Mexico’s Aerounion crashed and burned outside Monterey, killing 5 crew and two people on ground
13 April • Boeing 737-300 failed on landing at airport in West Papua, Indonesia, ran into water drainage channel, causing plane to breakup, injuring 78 people
14 April • Viet Nam government announced final decision to build 1570 km high-speed line linking north and south regions of country between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh cities using Japanese style standard-gauge shinkansen running at 300 km/h with groundbreaking to start in 2012 and completion in 35 years
14 April • Richter magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of western China, killing at least 2064 people and leaving 175 missing by 20 April
21 April • IATA announced airline losses caused by 6 days of suspended flights in Europe following eruption of volcano in Iceland reached $1.7 billion, affecting 29% of world’s airlines and 1.2 million passengers each day
21 April • Luxury, 17-car, tourist train derailed when ran out of control on down grade while changing locomotives near Pretoria, S Africa, killing 2 passengers and injuring 20 others
21 April •

S Korean government introduced fingerprinting and photographing of all people more than 17 years old entering S Korea from this summer—Japan introduced similar border controls from November 2007
22 April • Deutsche Bahn (DB) announced purchase of UK’s Arriva bus and rail service operating in 12 EU countries for nearly £1.6 billion
26 April •

Kumamoto City Transport Bureau moved 600 m of city tram tracks near Kumamoto Station to side of road for users’ convenience and safety as Japan’s first genuine side-reservation tramway
28 April • JR Central announced 2-year delay in planned opening of linear maglev shinkansen between Tokyo and Nagoya until 2027 due to decrease in revenues from Tokaido Shinkansen as result of recession
30 April • Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism Seiji Maehara and JR East President Satoshi Seino visited Washington, USA, to announce participation in bidding for new high-speed railway lines across California (1300 km) and around Chicago (3700 km); JR Central already announced bid participation


3 May • UAL stockholder of third-largest US airline United and fourth-largest Continental announced plans to complete merger by end of 2010, creating world’s second largest airline after Delta on passenger-km basis and using United’s name and Continental’s logo mark
3 May • Torrential continuous rain for 3 days in US states of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky, drowned 27 people
4 May • EU member states announced expected early implementation of Single European Sky plan integrating air transport in all 27 countries by June 2012 in 9 regions partly due to need to reach consensus over confusion caused by Icelandic volcano eruptions and resulting transport chaos in Europe
7 May • US Federal Aviation Authority approved four flights of three US carriers (Delta: Los Angeles and Detroit); American (New York); and Hawaiian (Honolulu) to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport when fourth runway extension completed in October this year; United and Continental applications rejected
7 May • Typhoon strike and torrential rains in Sichuan, Guangdong, and Chongqing, China, caused serious flooding, drowning 65 people and displacing 2.55 million others
8 May • Staten Island Ferry linking Manhattan with Staten Island struck pier, injuring 37 of 270 people onboard
9 May • Gas explosion and fire in coalmine in central Russia killed 32 miners, leaving 58 missing and about 70 injured
11 May • JR East announced start of work on 81.8-km section of Tohoku Shinkansen between Hachinohe and Shin Aomori stations from December 4 and commencement of Hayabusa services using E5 shinkansen from March 2011 linking Tokyo and Shin-Aomori in 3 hours 10 minutes
12 May • Airbus A330-200 belonging to Afriqiyah Airways of Libya crashed on landing at Tripoli International Airport, killing 103 out of 104 people onboard, with young Dutch boy as sole survivor
14 May •

Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism Seiji Maehara announced start of operations of new runway D (2500 m) and International Terminal at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport from 21 October as well new airport stations on Tokyo Monorail and Toyoko Express Railway to service new international flights from 31 October
14 May • Bus overturned in central India to touch high-voltage line, electrocuting 28 people and injuring 5 others
17 May • Soviet-era Antonov 24 belonging to domestic Pamir Airways crashed in mountains near Kabul, Afghanistan, killing all 44 people onboard
18 May • Japanese government announced relaxed rules governing tourist visas for Chinese visitors to Japan, in particular reducing annual income requirements to allow more inbound tourism
21 May • Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism announced memorandum of understanding with Viet Nam Ministry of Transport on cooperation in transport development, especially with regard to infrastructure for urban railways, airports, and ports in addition to planned use of Japanese-style shinkansen
22 May • B737-800 belonging to Air India Express failed on landing in Mangalore, central India, to overshoot runway and burn outside airport perimeter, killing 158 of 166 people onboard
23 May • 18-car trainset bound for Guilin from Shanghai struck by landslide in Fuzhou, Jiangshi Province, China, derailing and overturning 9 carriages and killing 19 passengers with 70 others injured
23 May • Truck running in wrong direction on expressway in Fuxin, Liaoning Province, China, hit bus in head-on collision to catch fire, killing 29 bus passengers and 3 people in truck and leaving 24 others injured
25 May • Single-engine Cirrus 22 exploded in flight near Toronto, Canada, and crashed into office building, killing both people on plane and setting fire to offices
27 May • JR East’s hybrid kiha 200 combining diesel engine and lithium batteries for motive power awarded Recommended Prize at International Transport Forum (ITF) in Leipzig, Germany
28 May • Freight train ran into derailed express train in W. Bengal, India, killing 115 passengers and injuring some 200 others
30 May • Bus overturned on highway in southern India after striking steel road-closure barrier to catch fire, killing 30 passengers and injuring 28 others
30 May • Severe flooding and landslides caused by tropical storm Agatha strike on Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador left at least 179 people dead

MILESTONES 

Kohei Kobayashi
Retired President of Hankyu Electric Railway, Mr Kohei Kobayashi, died aged 82. Graduated in economics from Keio Gijuku University in 1950 before joining Hankyu after working at Chiyoda Bank (now Bank of Mitsubishi, Tokyo, UFJ). Held post of Company President from 1987 to 1993 before becoming Chairman until 2002. Also held posts of Chairman of Japanese Private Railways Association (1999–2001), Chairman of Hankyu Braves baseball team, Chairman of Hankyu Transport, and Board Chairman of Takarazuka Theatre

Masafumi Izumi
Appointed President of JR Shikoku. Joined old JNR after graduating in law from University of Kyoto; appointed JR West Director in 2002 and Representative
Director in 2008. Previous President Kyohiro Matsudaappointed Chairman with representative rights


1 June • Eurotunnel operators of Channel Tunnel announced purchase of UK’s third largest rail- freight operator (by volume) GBRf from First Group PLC for €26.3 million
4 June • Fire in crowded residential and commercial area of Dacca, Bangladesh, killed more than 100 people and injured at least 150 others
6 June • Tornados and severe storms in mid-west USA left 7 people dead in Ohio and at least 40 others injured in Michigan, Illinois, and Iowa, as well as causing automatic shutdown of nuclear power plant in Michigan
7 June • IATA announced world’s airlines returned to small profit of US$2.5 billion in 2010 following 3 consecutive years of losses
8 June • Seiji Maehara reappointed as Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism in new cabinet of Prime Minister Naoto Kan following resignation of Hatoyama cabinet
8 June • Gautrain high-speed line opened between OR Tambo International Airport and Johannesburg suburbs in time for 2010 World Cup in South Africa; 30 km journey covered in about 15 minutes with planned extensions to Pretoria in 2011 and reaching total length of about 80 km at operating speeds of 160 km/h
8 June • Emirates Airlines based in Dubai announced order for 32 double-decker Airbus 380s for total cost of some US$11.5 billion as largest ever single plane order; with this order, number of 380s owned by Emirates will reach 90 planes
10 June • Japan Tourism Association appointed Toshiba Chairman Atsutoshi Nishida as new Chairman at AGM and decided on merger with Tourism Industry Association of Japan (TIJ, Chairman Ryuji Funayama) in spring 2011 following TIJ merger approval on 8 June; Nishida first Chairman appointed from private sector
11 June • Flash floods in Arkansas, USA, drowned at least 16 people and left 20 or 30 people missing from about 300 campers near riverbed
14 June • Fourteen direct return flights per week started between Shanghai and Taipei following agreement on liberalization of transport, trade and communications between China and Taiwan; simultaneously, direct flights between China and Taiwan increased from 270 to 370 per week
15 June • Landslides following torrential rains in south-east Bangladesh carried away houses and military facilities, leaving at least 58 people dead
17 June • Two landslides in Rakhine, Myanmar, caused by torrential rains left at least 57 people dead
17 June • Flooding in southern France caused by heavy rains killed 22 people and stopped TGV services
18 June • JAL and ANA announced application to Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism for exemption from Antitrust Act of trans-Pacific routes between Japan and USA to facilitate business partnerships with US airlines, economic efficiencies, and better services
19 June • Viet Nam government rejected proposals for plans to build 1600-km shinkansen style high-speed line between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City due to concerns over construction costs and profitability
20 June • Fire caused by sparks in Chicago subway tunnel injured 12 people through smoke inhalation
21 June • New DRMC 14.5-km line linking Indian capital Delhi with satellite city of Gurgaon opened
22 June • Widespread flooding and rockslides in southern China following days of heavy rains left 199 people dead, 123 missing, and almost 30 million people displaced in ten provinces including Zhejiang, Fujian, Jianxi, and Chongqing, with estimated financial losses of 560 billion yen
22 June • Train bound for Brazzaville derailed and overturned into deep ravine in Pointe-Noire Republic of Congo, Africa, killing at least 60 of 450 people onboard; worn-out tracks dating from French colonial period blamed for accident
27 June • Al Maktoum International Airport opened for freight services in Dubai, UAE, as world’s largest airport with five runways and four terminal buildings capable of serving 160 million passengers annually with passenger services starting from March 2011
28 June • Japanese government held Chicago High-Speed Rail Seminar in Chicago, Illinois, attended by Minister of Transport Seiji Maehara and JR East President Satoshi Seino to promote shinkansen technology solution

MILESTONES 

Atsutoshi Nishida
Toshiba Chairman Atsutoshi Nishida appointed Chairman of Japan Tourism Association. Before joining Toshiba in 1975, completed postgraduate course in law and political science at University of Tokyo after graduating in political science and economics from Waseda University in 1968; appointed Director in 1997, President with Representative Director Rights in 2005, and Chairman in 2009. Also Vice-Chairman of Japan Business Federation since May 2009



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