Explosion at Fireworks Festival in stadium in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire left at least 61 people dead and 49 others injured

Kyoto City announced plans for city-railway themed exhibition in Umekoji Park, Shimogyo Ward, with display of 7 pieces of rolling stock from Meiji, Taisho and Showa periods as well as running battery-powered tramway; JR West now building its new railway museum adjacent to park

Japan’s National Police Agency announced 12th consecutive decrease in road deaths of 201 for 2012 toll of 4411 (.4.1% year-on-year); injuries also decreased by 3.5% to 824,539 with 3.9% drop in accidents to 664,907 for 8th consecutive year

High-speed ferry struck harbour wall head-on in Manhattan, New York, injuring at least 85 commuters

Two commuter trains collided in Neuhausen am Rheinfall, Switzerland, injuring 17 people

Restored steam train built in 1898 hauled tube train carriages between Paddington and Farringdon Road stations (5 km) in London to celebrate 150th anniversary of tube opening

Finnish passenger cruise ship operator Viking Lines commissioned world’s first large passenger liner (M/S Viking Grace.218 m and 2800 passengers and crew) operating on liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel

Japanese Ministry of Justice Immigration Bureau announced foreign visitors to Japan in 2012 increased by 2.04 million (+28.6%) to 9.17 million, and second largest figure on record due to recovery from drop following Great East Japan Earthquake. Japanese leaving for overseas destinations increased by about 1.5 million (+8.8%) to new record of 18.49 million

Military transport train derailed in Giza near Cairo, Egypt, killing 19 people and injuring 107 others

US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) grounded all Boeing 787 airplanes following battery problems; Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism followed suit on 17 January. Boeing 787 suffered problems with fuel and oil leaks in engines in early December followed by ANA emergency landing due to battery fire on 16 December; both ANA (17 units of forty-nine 787s delivered worldwide) and JAL (7 units) suspended all 787 operations

Joint venture development by 12 companies, including Mitsubishi Estate and Hankyu Corporation, announced 26 April opening of Grand Front Osaka development comprised of 4 buildings on ‘Umekita’ redevelopment site on north side of JR Central Osaka Station including part of old 24-ha Umeda Freight Station container yard; new site with 266 shops forms largest business zone of 44,000 m2 in Japanese metropolitan city

Helicopter crashed into crane on top of building under construction in central London before crashing in flames to street below, killing pilot and 1 person on street as well as injuring 13 others

Airbus announced 2012 orders and deliveries with 588 units delivered (534 in 2011) and 833 orders received (1419 in 2011) compared to Boeing 2012 deliveries of 601 units (477 in 2011) and 1203 orders (805 in 2011) with Boeing regaining lead over Airbus in deliveries after 10 years

Heathrow Airport Holdings (old BAA) announced sale of London Stanstead Airport to Manchester Airport Group (MAG) for ￡1.5 billion; Heathrow Holdings already sold two airports including London Gatwick and now owns just 4 airports, including London Heathrow

Redevelopment group including Tokyu, JR East, Tokyo Metro and others announced plans to develop area around Shibuya Station in central Tokyo including 46-storey station building to open in 2020 and 10 and 13-storey buildings to open by 2027

Hawaii Tourist Board announced 9.6% year-on-year increase in visitors to Hawaii in 2012 reaching record 8 million people; Japanese tourists increased by 17% to 1.5 million due to high value of yen and more Japan.Hawaii flights

Japan National Tourist Organization (JNTO) announced inbound 2012 figures of 8.3681 million foreign visitors (34.6% year-on-year increase) and second largest figure after 8.61 million visitors in 2010. By nationality, Koreans took first place (2.04 million, +23.3%), followed by Taiwanese (1.46 million, +47.6%), and Chinese (1.43 million, +37.1%). Chinese figures dropped from October due to diplomatic disputes but still record figure along with Taiwanese *JNTO figures only include foreign visitors and not foreign long-term residents of Japan

Large truck struck line of passengers boarding ferry in Mombasa, Kenya, killing at least 11 people; accident blamed on faulty truck brakes

Fire started by fireworks on stage in nightclub in Santa Maria, Brazil, killed 231 people and injured 82 others

Russian fishing vessel overturned in Sea of Japan, leaving 20 people missing and 10 rescued

British government announced two routes for extensions of planned HS2 line between London and Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds with route splitting at Litchfield with plans to operate services at 400 km/h

Freight train collided with large bus in Heihe City, Heilungjiang Province, China, killing 7 people on bus

JR Central announced start from April 2013 of large-scale 10-year plan to upgrade Tokaido Shinkansen (515.4 km from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka) celebrating its 50th anniversary in autumn 2014; new engineering technologies expected to cut 30% from initial costs of \1.9 trillion and targeted at 240 km of steel bridges, concrete viaducts, tunnels, etc.

Small Challenger 200 jet crashed on landing at Almaty, Kazakhstan, killing all 21 people on board

With both New York Grand Central Station and Tokyo Station celebrating 100th anniversaries this year and next year, JR East announced formation of Sister Station Agreement on 19 March to promote friendship and cultural exchanges between both stations and nations

Truck carrying fireworks and firecrackers exploded while crossing expressway bridge in Henan Province, China, collapsing about 80 m of bridge and killing 13 people; carrier in violation of law restricting production and transport of fireworks but bridge failure also attributed to design and construction faults

Bus accidents involving people travelling home for Chinese New Year killed total of 42 people; 11 dead and 18 injured in Sichuan, 18 dead and 34 injured in Gansu, and 13 dead and 21 injured in Guizhou provinces

Small Alitalia propeller plane (ATR72) over-ran runway on landing at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport, damaging plane and injuring 16 of 50 people onboard

Tourist bus collided with passenger vehicle on mountain road downgrade near Los Angeles, USA, before overturning, killing 8 passengers and injuring 40 others

JR West and Hiroshima City announced electrification and extension of 14-km Kabe Line (Yokogawa to Kabe) on 1.6-km part of parallel Kabe to Sandankyo section (46.2 km) abandoned in December 2003; intermediate stations to be built at total cost of about \2.7 billion, borne jointly by Hiroshima City and national budget. Kabe Line linking Hiroshima and Hamada to be named In’yo Connection Line with electrification south beyond Kabe

JR East announced 15 March opening of Singapore Office as Asian base for overseas railway projects; also registered branch office on 1 February in Brussels, Belgium, as EU business base

New N700A shinkansen debuted on Tokaido Shinkansen; design based on N700 series with upgraded brakes and running gear for improved safety; A character added to N700 logo to symbolize Advanced design

Crowd stampede at Hindu festival in Allahabad Station, northern India left at least 36 people dead and 30 others injured

6-car express train collided with car transporter on level crossing of San’yo Electric Railway in Takasago City, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, before derailing and running 120 m to hit platform, leaving 15 passengers injured

JR West announced participation in Megasolar (large-scale solar power station) as first stage in building 0.5-GW power plant by Chugoku Electric on 90,000 m2 site in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan

Small Antonov 24 plane chartered by EU Champions League crashed and burned on landing at Prokofiev International Airport in Ukraine, killing 5 of 44 people onboard and injuring 12 others

Third largest US airline, American Airlines (AA) now in business restructuring and 5th largest airline US Air announced merger to form world’s largest air carrier exceeding United and Delta in terms of sales and passenger miles; company to continue trading as American Airlines, forming one of big three US carriers, including United and Delta

Mitsubishi Electric announced development of Train Regenerative Power Adaptive Technology for reducing overall power consumption of railway systems and optimizing voltage control of railway substations with implementation targeting 2014

Japanese government announced formation of working group on political reforms (Chairman.Prime Minister Abe) including nine well-known business figures, such as JR East Counselor Mutsutake Otsuka

Tourist bus ran off expressway in Kokonoe City, Oita Prefecture to fall 2.7 m onto Kyudai Line, injuring 42 of 44 passengers as running train stopped just before bus

Osaka Prefectural Government, Osaka City and Osaka Chamber of Commerce agreed to form Osaka Tourism Board in April tasked with increasing visits by tourists from 1.58 million in 2011 to 6.5 million by 2020

Eight armed men robbed airplane carrying $50 million in diamonds from plane at Brussels International Airport as largest plane robbery in history

JR Kyushu announced opening of JR Kyushu and Eiji Mitooka Railway Design Exhibit with theme of ‘Designing a Happy Journey: Reviving Kyushu’ through Creativity in Bangkok, Thailand at Thai Creative and Design Center Exhibition held by Thai government between 16 March and 26 May

French government railways SNCF announced April launch of new, low-cost, fully double deck TJV service between Marne-la-Vallee near Paris and Marseilles to compete with airlines by increasing number of passenger seats, eliminating first class, and cutting track usage fees by arriving/departing in Paris suburbs

Tokyo Metro and JR East subsidiary Japan Consultants (JIC) announced assistance in setting-up operations and maintenance company for suburban railways in Hanoi, Viet Nam, handling Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) project for developing infrastructure on three tracks totalling 38 km in Hanoi

Hot air balloon carrying tourists near Luxor, south Egypt, caught fire and crashed, killing 19 people onboard

Tokyo New International Airport (Narita) Company announced 50% reduction in landing fees for new and extra landing slots from April 2013 until March 2016 with possibility of future extended period to improve competitiveness with Incheon International Airport in Korea

High-speed expressway bus system (BRT) started operations to replace damaged 43.7-km section of JR East Ofunato Line between Sakari and Kesennuma damaged by Great East Japan Earthquake disaster

First two axles of Komachi shinkansen train derailed on Ousen Line (conventional narrow-gauge tracks) section between Jinguji and Kariwano of Akita Shinkansen in Akita Prefecture near Daisen City, stopping operations until 4 March but with no injuries to 130 people on board.20 km/h speed restrictions in place at time of accident due to snowstorm

Wedding bus ran off road down 300-m cliff after wedding party in west Nepal, killing 15 people and leaving 25 others injured including newlyweds

JR East announced creation of first large-scale solar power generation station in Keiyo Rolling Stock Works in Chiba City with operations starting in FY2013 to produce average of 2700 kWh of electricity per day (1 GWh per year) to reduce power demands of works and supply train operations

New Ishigaki Airport opened in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, with runway extended by 500 m to 2000 m to handle medium size aircraft; first planned proposal in 1976 delayed three times by environmental concerns over protecting coral reef

Night sleeper bus with 22 passengers ran off southern end of Yangtze River bridge in Jingzhou, Hubei Province, China, killing 14 people and injuring 8 others after puncture caused bus to mount guard rails

JR East announced 5-year business plan for FY2013 to 2017 including \470 billion spending on introduction of new safety management systems to prevent accidents like 2005 Fukuchiyama Line derailment

Chinese government approved disbanding of Chinese Ministry of Railways to bring railways under direct control and dismantle structural reforms approved by National People’s Congress

JR Freight abandoned Umeda Freight Yard handling freight distribution in Kansai region of Japan, ending yard’s 138-year history; site to be redeveloped as second stage in Osaka Station north side Umekita development and yard functions to be moved to new Suita Freight Terminal

Double-decker bus overturned on mountain road near Cape town, S. Africa, killing 25 people and injuring
45 others

Bus overturned on expressway near Beirut, Lebanon, killing 9 people and injuring 29 others

Small Piper PA31 twin-engine plane crashed into car park in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA, killing all three people on board

New train timetables started for services by operators in JR group.JR East started Hayabusa E6 series shinkansen services at 320 km/h on Tohoku Shinkansen, cutting fastest services between Tokyo and Shin-Aomori to 2 hours 59 minutes; E6 series also debuted on Akita Shinkansen

Bus fell 60 m off expressway during strong side winds in Baoshan City, Yunnan Province, China, killing 13 people and injuring 15 others

Airbus announced order from Indonesian low cost carrier Lion Air for 234 medium range passenger jets (60 units of A320, 109 units of A320neo with upgraded fuel consumption, and 65 units of A321 neo) worth about .18.4 billion and largest order ever for Airbus

Irish low cost carrier (LCC) Ryan Air and largest LCC in EU announced order for 175 units of Boeing next-generation B737-80 small passenger jet worth total of $15.6 billion

Tokyo Station and New York Grand Central Station announced twinned stations agreement following Grand Central centenary in February and red-brick Tokyo Station centenary in December 2014; first US and Japan station twin agreement and modelled on 2006 twin agreement between Holland’s Amsterdam Central Station and Tokyo Station

Long-distance bus ran off bridge in Maharashtra State, India, killing 32 passengers and injuring 13 others

Integrated nationwide services started between ten IC transport cards, including JR East Suica, Tokyo Metropolitan private railways Pasmo, Kansai private railways Pitapa, etc., to support compatible fare charging on 52 railway lines and 96 bus lines with card sales at 200,000 outlets nationwide excluding Pitapa cards; card use between some JR group operators still unsupported

Odakyu Electric Railway started services on 2.2-km underground section of Odakyu Line between Yoyogi Uehara and Umegaoka stations to move three stations including Shimokitazawa underground and eliminate 9 level crossings on previous above ground tracks; underground up and down double-tracking work continues with completion expected in 2017.parts of elevated double-tracking already completed between Higashi-kitazawa and Izumi Tamagawa and fully completed between Setagaya-Daita and Izumi Tamagawa

Ministry of Land, Transport, Infrastructure and Tourism approved JR East application to run connecting services between Tohoku main line and Senseki Line; latter line damaged by Great East Japan Earthquake to enter operation in 2015 with direct trains to Ishinomaki using all-diesel services due to different electrification methods

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed \54.34 billion loan with Philippine government for railways and air transport development projects; railways include \43.3 billion to extend double-track Manila Metro LRT system, and air transport includes about \10.8 billion to build new airport to improve Bohol Province

Bus drove off cliff and overturned in Arequipa, south Peru, killing at least 24 people and injuring 18 others

Gakunan Line of Fujikyu Group (Fuji City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan) running 9.2 km between Yoshiwara and Gakunan Eno split off as separate company (Gakunan Railway) following March 2012 closure of freight division and declining profitability. Bus division already transferred to Fujikyu Group

Shinki Bus Company (Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture) introduced West Japan’s first articulated bus services using 18-m Mercedes Benz buses on three lines in Sanda City, Hyogo Prefecture following approval by council including Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), prefectural government, etc., for introduction of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system running on dedicated roads and lanes

21.6-km section of Minami Rias Line of third-sector Sanriku Railway badly damaged in Great East Japan Earthquake reopened after 2 years between Sakari and Yoshihama with full line restoration between Sakari and Kamaishi (36.6 km) schedule for April 2014

MLIT approved plans by Sapporo City, Hokkaido, Japan to extend municipal trams as high-speed circular track around city with 0.4 km extension between Nishi 4-chome and Susukino to achieve an 8.9-km loop at budgeted cost of \590 million and opening scheduled in spring 2015

Tokyu Railway and Japan Transport Engineering Company (J-TREC) announced introduction from mid-May of first jointly developed next-generation stainless-steel rolling stock called Sustina as 5050 series on Tokyu’s Toyoko Line; design uses fully welded metal stainless plates to lighten carriages to same degree as aluminium rolling stock

B737-800 belonging to low-cost carrier Lion Air over-ran runway on landing at Bali Ngurah Rai International Airport to end up in sea, leaving 45 of 108 passengers and crew injured but with no fatalities

Overloaded bus ran off road in northwest Peru, killing at least 33 people onboard

Hotel fire in Xiangyang City, China, left 14 people dead and 47 others injured

Kurobe Railway (21 km between Unazuki and Keiyakidaira, Toyama Prefecture) announced twin sister agreement with Taiwan’s Alishan Forest Railway (71.4 km between Chiayi and Alishan; both lines are historic forest railways about 100 years old using 762-mm narrow gage and popular sightseeing lines

M7.0 earthquake struck Ya’an City in Sichuan Province, China, leaving at least 196 people dead, 21 missing and 11,470 injured as of 24 April

300 km/h operations started with shift to summer timetable on high-speed line (904 km) linking Harbin and Dalian in northeast China, cutting time to about 3.5 hours from 5 hours 18 minutes when line opened in December 2012 with winter speeds restricted to 200 km/h

Enoshima Railway concluded tourism promotion agreement with Taiwan’s Railway Administration to promote partnership with Taiwan’s Pingxi Line from 1 May to 31 March 2014 with new daily compatible passenger ticketing between both lines during
this period

Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency (JRTT) announced 3-year delay until 2018 in start of through operations between Sagami Railway and JR East services due to delays in construction of new 2.7-km link between Sagami Railway’s Nishiya Station and JR East’s new Hazawa Station on Tokaido Freight Line with cost increase of \10 billion to \78.2 billion

8-storey garment factory building collapsed in outskirts of Dacca, Bangladesh, killing at least 1100 people

Small bus collided with large truck and caught fire on expressway in Liaoning Sheng Province, China, killing all 8 people in bus

MLIT approved plans by local railways and tramlines in Toyama to construct high-speed loop line starting at Toyama Station where elevated section of Hokuriku Shinkansen now under construction to provide direct connections with Toyama tramlines on south side and Toyama Harbour Line on north side; Toyama City to extend tramlines by 160 m with planned opening in March 2015

JR Hokkaido requested permission from MLIT to abandon 42.1-km section of Esashi Line between Kikonai and Esashi from 11 May 2014 following agreement with local governments in Autumn 2012 to operate substitute bus services

MLIT re-approved airworthiness certificate of new Boeing B787 plagued by battery problems since mid-January following USA FAA decision to withdraw flight suspension order on 25 April, clearing way for ANA (17 planes) and JAL (7 units) to resume commercial flights from 1 June

Freight train derailed near Ghent in northwest Belgium before catching fire and releasing poisonous gas cloud of nitro acryl, causing one death and injury to 33 nearby residents

Large freighter struck concrete sea wall in Italian port of Genoa, killing 7 people in concrete control tower on wall and injuring 4 others

Tanker truck caught fire and exploded on expressway in northern part of Mexico City with fire destroying nearby houses to kill 22 people and injure more than 30 others

Overloaded bus skidded and fell into fast-flowing river in northern India, drowning at least 33 passengers and injuring 14 others

Mitsubishi Trading and Chiyoda Corporation announced receipt of \50 billion order for construction of new international airport 50 km southwest of Ulan Bataar, Mongolia, with 3600-m runway, terminal buildings, etc., using Japanese yen loan; scheduled for completion in 2016

Kawasaki Heavy Engineering announced order for 100 subway carriages from US Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) worth \18 billion as option to base contract for 64 carriages ordered in 2010 with Kawasaki winning orders for more than half of 528 carriages owned by WMATA

Nepalese Bombardier DHC6 crashed on landing at Jomsom Airport in northern Nepal after overrunning runway and striking riverbank, severely injuring 18 of 23 passengers and crew onboard, including 5 Japanese tourists

Train derailed on Metro North Railroad linking New York with suburbs near Bridgeport, Connecticut, to collide with other oncoming train, injuring 60 commuters

Speeding tramcar derailed on curve in northwest Hong Kong, injuring 77 people

Bombardier DHC8-100 belonging to Piedmont Airlines subsidiary of United crash-landed at Newark International Airport, New Jersey, USA, when undercarriage failed to come down, injuring 34 people onboard

Hot air balloon used by tourists visiting Cappadocia, central Turkey, crashed and killed 3 people with 22 others severely injured

Mitsubishi Heavy Engineering and Mitsubishi Trading announced receipt of \12 billion order from Singapore Land Transport Authority (LTA) for work to strengthen transit systems with delivery of 16 new carriages for two-car trainsets as well as conversion to two-car trainsets for 16 out of 41 existing carriages on Senkang and Pungol LRT lines feeding east.west subway services plus infrastructure upgrades and conversions

Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Akihiro Ota announced permission for ANA and JAL owned B787 planes to restart services following withdrawal of airworthiness certificate due to battery problems since January 2013; daily services expected to restart from 1 June

Two freight trains collided and derailed in central Missouri, USA, before hitting road bridge supports to collapse bridge while two cars passing across bridge, injuring total of 7 people

MILT announced 2013 Cityscape Awards with Kumamoto Station and surroundings in Kumamoto City, JR East Hitachi Station and surroundings in Hitachi City, and Kagoshima City tramcar greenery all winning major prizes

Freight train carrying chemicals collided with truck near Baltimore, Maryland, USA, to derail 15 wagons and catch fire, causing serious injuries to truck driver but no release of poisonous gases although nearby residents evacuated during incident

JR East announced railway operation and systems cooperation agreement in memorandum of understanding with RATP of Paris, France, concluded on 27 May; RATP manages subways, urban railway lines and trams in central Paris

Ferry carrying nearly three times permitted passenger number overturned in Rajan River, Sarawak, Borneo, Malaysia, leaving 1 person dead and 12 still missing with another 190 rescued

Singapore Airlines announced purchase of 60 new fuel efficient planes from Boeing (30 units of B787-10X) and Airbus (30 units of A350-900) worth total of $17 billion as largest order ever by company

JR Central unveiled 5-car train set of L0 rolling stock designed for commercial operations on its planned linear MAGLEV shinkansen at Tsuru City test facility in Yamanashi Prefecture; test run scheduled in September following equipment checks

Sumitomo Trading, Japan Railway Consultants (JIC), and Oriental Consultants (OC), announced order from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for railway safety and services improvement project for Myanmar; railways in Myanmar suffer more than 650 derailments and collisions annually due to aging infrastructure, and pilot project for 20-km track section expected to improve track maintenance through technical cooperation

JR East announced plans to operate luxury ‘Cruise Train’ with limited seat availability covering eastern Japan from spring 2016; able to run on both electrified and non-electrified sections using EDC technology

Mil-8 helicopter crashed near Khabarovsk, Eastern Russia, killing all 5 people on board

JR East and JR West announced new jointly operated service to start from spring 2015 on Hokuriku Shinkansen between Nagano and Kanazawa with three new stations in Niigata and Toyama prefectures at Joetsu Myoko, Kurobe-Unazuki Onsen, and Shin-Takaoka

Expressway bus set on fire near Xiamen City, Fujian Province, China, killing 47 people onboard including the arsonist and injuring 34 others

Larsen & Toubro Ltd. of India and Sojitu Corporation announced joint receipt of order worth \110 billion for construction of 626-km section of 1500-km Western Dedicated Freight Corridor linking Delhi and Mumbai to be funded by record-breaking Japanese yen loan; tracks to use Japanese-manufactured high-durability rails with completion scheduled for summer 2017

Hitachi Ltd., announced order to provide turnkey project to build 19.7 km of suburban tracks and 17 train sets composed of 51 carriages for Ho Chi Minh City in Viet Nam; order worth total of \67 billion and financed by Japanese government STEP yen loan

Japanese government 2013 Tourism White Paper aiming to increase inbound tourism to 20 million by 2016 (250% increase over current figures) by relaxing visa rules for visitors from SE Asia

Japanese government Tourism Promotion Working Group announced plans to achieve annual inbound tourism figures of 30 million by 2030 from SE Asia and especially Thailand and Malaysia through relaxed visa regulations

Medical emergency helicopter crashed in hospital parking lot near Talihina, Oklahoma, USA, killing 1 person onboard and seriously injuring 3 others

Commuter train collided with empty train standing at station in Buenos Aries, Argentina, killing at least 3 people and injuring 155 others

Kinki Nippon Railway opened AbenoHALCS (36,000 m2 area) under construction in Abenoku, Osaka, with 60 floors above ground and 5 floors underground as Japan’s second tallest building (300 m) after Yokohama Landmark Tower; Kintetsu Department Store occupying 14F to B2 opened on same day to be followed by hotel, museum, observation platform, etc., next spring

Airbus announced successful test flight of new A350XWB passenger plane under development at Toulouse, France, as mid-range, fuel-economy design competing with Boeing’s B787 and B777; to be available in 3 models with 270 to 350 seats as extra wide body design (XWB) from late 2014 with orders from 33 companies worldwide for 613 units already received

Ferry overturned in bay near Masbate Province, Philippines, leaving 2 people dead and 15 missing

Boeing announced larger B787-10 version of its new mid-size passenger plane with base model -8 version and larger model -9 version expected to enter service this year with confirmed orders for 102 units from 5 airlines

British low-cost carrier EasyJet announced purchase contract for 100 units of Airbus A320neo and 35 units of A320

Tourist bus ran over cliff in Xinjiang-Uygur Autonomous Region, China, killing 15 of 36 people onboard and injuring 21 others

Bus ran off expressway in central Peru into river, drowning 30 people of 54 onboard and leaving 9 missing; driver believed to have fallen asleep at wheel

JR Kyushu announced start of services on 34.6-km section of Hohi Line between Miyachi and Bungotaketa from 4 August; line washed away by heavy rains in July 2012 but now fully restored between Kumamoto and Oita (148 km)

Japan Transport Engineering Company, rolling stock maker of JR East group concluded memorandum of understanding with French Alstom Transport to participate in Japanese Light Rail Transit (LRT) system market in cooperation with domestic introduction of Light Rail Vehicles (LRV)

UNESCO announced decision to include Mt Fuji and Mihonomatsubara in list of World Heritage (Cultural) Sites, making 13 such sites in Japan and 17 including natural heritage sites

Biplane performing acrobatics at air show in Dayton, Ohio, USA, crashed and burned, killing 2 people

Tourist bus carrying 46 Romanians drove over cliff near Podgorica, Montenegro, killing 16 people and injuring 30 others

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Toshiba announced \20 billion order from Taiwan High Speed Rail for 5-km undelivered extension of 9.2-km from Taipei Station north to Nangang Station with opening expected in March 2016

Kawasaki Heavy Industries announced development of efWING (environmentally friendly Weight-Saving Innovative Generation Truck) as next-generation bogies using CRFP (carbon fiber reinforced plastics) in main parts of bogie frame while also eliminating need for heavy coil suspension springs; simpler and lighter bogies help cut fuel consumption and reduce global warming gas emissions

ANA Holdings announced cancellation of cooperation agreement with Malaysian low-cost carrier (LCC) Air Asia in late October, and completion of formation of domestic joint-venture LCC Air Asia Japan due to growth in users of domestic LCC started in August 2012

Indian Air Force rescue helicopter helping people stranded by widespread flooding in Gaurikund in Uttarakhand State, northern India, crashed leaving 17 people dead and 15 missing

High-speed passenger lines linking Nanjing and Hangzhou, and Hangzhou and Ningbo opened, enabling full high-speed rail transport between Shanghai and Nanjing and Shanghai and Ningbo with access to three major conurbations in Yangtze River delta in under 1 hour

Helicopter crashed in northern part of Sakha Republic of Russian Far East, killing 24 of 28 people onboard

Toshiba announced receipt of order from Singapore’s MRT operator for synchronous magnetic motors (PMSM) to upgrade drive systems for 396 C151 commuter railcars, offering 30% better power consumption than conventional motors and marking first order from overseas railway operator

B777-200 belonging to Asiana Airlines of Korea crashed on landing at San Francisco International Airport, killing 3 of 307 people onboard and injuring 180 others

Parked freight train composed of gasoline tanker wagons slipped brakes and ran unmanned down grade to derail and catch fire, destroying large part of nearby town in Quebec Province, Canada, killing at least 20 residents with unknown number missing

Light aircraft crashed on takeoff from Soldotna Airport Alaska, killing all 10 people onboard

Five cars of 19-car passenger train derailed in Krasnodar region of southern Russia, injuring 108 people

Express bus struck guardrail near Avila, central Spain, killing 9 people onboard and injuring 20 others

Three-storey hotel collapsed in Hyderabad, southern India, killing 13 people and injuring 21 others

Six cars of SNCF express train derailed and overturned to hit platform at Bretigny-sur-Orge Station close to Paris, killing 6 people and injuring 30 others; accident blamed on points failure

Express bus struck by large truck at intersection in Moscow, Russia, killing 18 passengers and injuring more than 40 others

Hitachi announced order worth ￡1.2 billion from British Department for Transport for 270 carriages (30 train sets) and service parts for planned intercity express services; order adds to July 2012 contract for 596 carriages, bringing total to 866 carriages

B737-700 belonging to Southwest Airlines suffered nose wheel collapse on landing at La Guardia Airport, New York, injuring 10 of 150 people onboard

Bus crossed center divide on expressway in central Thailand before crashing head-on into oncoming truck and catching fire, killing 19 people onboard and injuring 21 others

Bus ran off bridge into lake on outskirts of Belur southern India, killing at least 10 people and leaving about 10 others missing

High-speed S730 train belonging to RENFE derailed on curve with 80-km/h speed restriction in northwest Spain before overturning, killing 79 people and injuring 177 others

JR West and Transportation Promotion Culture Foundation announced closure of Osaka’s Modern Transportation Museum from 6 April 2014 in preparation for move of exhibits to JR West’s new Railway Museum in Kyoto scheduled to open in spring 2016; Modern Transportation Museum opened in January 1962 as part of project to commemorate the opening of Osaka loop line

Long-distance bus fell 30 meters from elevated section of expressway into gulley near Avellino, southern Italy, killing 38 people onboard including driver and injuring 10 others

Helicopter crashed in forest near Noxen, northeast Pennsylvania, USA, killing all 5 people onboard

Two passenger trains belonging to Swiss Federal Railways collided head-on after one ignored signal and entered single-track section, killing drivers and injuring 35 passengers

JR West announced suspension of seasonal services (until 3 November) of Steam Locomotive Yamaguchigo between Shin-Yamaguchi and Tsuwano (62.9 km) due to loss of three bridges washed away by heavy rains on 28 July