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2 Feb. | • | Freight train carrying hazardous
chemicals derailed and caught fire at
Cajon Summit, California, killing one crew
member, injuring 20 other people and closing
major highway
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4 Feb. | • | Columbian DC-8 cargo plane
caught fire and crashed into houses in
Asuncion, Paraguay, killing at least 23 crew
and residents
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6 Feb. | • | Charter Boeing 757 carrying German
tourists home from Caribbean to Berlin
and Frankfurt, crashed into sea off Dominican
Republic, killing all189 on board
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9 Feb. | • | Two commuter trains collided during
morning rush hour at Secaucus, New
Jersey, killing at least three people and injuring
more than 235 others
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10 Feb. | • | Road tunnel collapsed in
Hokkaido, Japan, killing 20
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12 Feb. | • | 300 cars involved in multiple
pileup on a fog-bound motorway between
Vicenza and Verona, in northern Italy
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14 Feb. | • | China-Vietnam Transnational
Railway re-opened after lapse of 17 years
when services stopped in 1979 during Sino-
Vietnamese War
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15 Feb. | • | Liberian-registered supertanker,
Sea Empress, ran aground near Milford
Haven in west Wales spilling 1,000 tons of
crude oil, polluting Britain's prized
Pembrokeshire coastline and endangering
wildlife
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16 Feb. | • | Amtrak passenger train bound
for Chicago and local commuter train
crashed head-on in snowstorm at Silver
Spring, Maryland, killing at least12 people
and injuring 21
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17 Feb. | • | Over 100 dead in Indonesian
earthquake off coast of Irian Jaya
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18 Feb. | • | 52 confirmed dead when ferry
sank in Philippines bound for Cadiz, Negros
Island when hit by high seas
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24 Feb. | • | Two small aircraft with 4 on board
belonging to "Brothers for Relief," a Miamibased
group of Cuban exiles, shot down
by Cuban military aircraft
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26 Feb. | • | USA-made C130 Sudanese military
transport aircraft crashed approx. 4 km
south of Khartoum killing all 70 on board
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27 Feb. | • | Over 200 vehicles involved in
nose-to-tail collision killing 15 people in
thick fog on expressway in north-west Belgium
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29 Feb. | • | B737 owned by Fawcett Airlines,
Peru, crashed in mountains near Lima killing117
passengers and 6 crew
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4 Mar. | • | Thirty-five cars of freight train derailed
at Weyauwega, Wisconsin forcing
evacuation of entire town
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8 Mar. | • | Royal Mail train collided with derailed
freight train carrying chemicals in
heavily populated area of Stafford, central
England, killing one person and injuring 20
|
| • | Turkish Cypriot Airlines B727 carrying
109 passengers and crew bound for
Istanbul from northern Cyprus hijacked by
group of four in military-style dress, claiming
to be Chechens. Incident resolved
when hijackers surrendered in Munich releasing
all passengers unharmed
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9 Mar. | • | With services due to begin at end
of month, Teito Rapid Transit Authority invited
200 guests to view a movie in makeshift
cinema at Namboku Line Ichigaya Station,
which was converted temporarily for
the event
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13 Mar. | • | JR East opened WWW home
page on Internet at http://www.jreast.co.jp
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16 Mar. | • | JR Group revised schedules in
most extensive changes since December
1994. Tokyo projects included extension
of Saikyo Line (see page 51), and completion
of electrification of 3.1 km between
Hachioji and Koraigawa on Hakko-minami
Line
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18 Mar. | • | JR West and JR Central held
ground-breaking ceremony at Yodogawaku,
Osaka, site of second control center
for Tokaido-San'yo Shinkansen
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|
25 Mar. | • | Transport Ministry approved plan
by JR Central to build new shinkansen station
next to current station in Tokyo. Construction
to start in fiscal 1996 with completion
expected by fiscal 2003
|
| • | IATA announced ratings for world
airports, classing Narita 'BB'. IATA announced
user-satisfaction ratings for 43
major world airports. Top three were:
Manchester Airport (UK), for helpful staff,
Changi Airport (Singapore), popular with
businessmen, and Schipol Airport (Netherlands)
for shopping facilities. Narita, main
gateway to Japan, at 42nd place disliked
for distance from city
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26 Mar. | • | Teito Rapid Transit Authority's
Namboku line expanded (see page 51).
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27 Mar. | • | Egyptian Airlines Airbus A320
hijacked by 3 in military-style dress en route
from Luxor in southern Egypt to Cairo. Hijackers
forced aircraft to land near Tobruk
and surrendered to Libyan authorities approximately
5 hours after hijacking
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30 Mar. | • | JR Tazawako Line closed for 1
year due to shinkansen line construction
between Morioka and Omagari (75.6 km).
Bus service replaces rail service while
wide-gauge tracks laid to replace narrowgauge
tracks
|
| • | Rinkai-Fukutoshin Line running
through Tokyo Waterfront Project began
operations (see page 51); second stage
planned to Osaki will begin operating in
2000 with services running directly into JR
Saikyo Line
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|
1 Apr. | • | Outstanding debts of defunct Japanese
National Railways reached record
¥27.6 trillion. JNR Settlement Corp., estimates
that only about ¥7.6 trillion likely to
be repaid, with taxpayers likely to shoulder
remaining ¥20 trillion. Government hopes
to find ways to dispose of long-term debts
in 1997 budget later this year. New tax on
fares of JRs to create repayment funds
seems most plausible, but most unpopular
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5 Apr. | • | Collision involving 300 cars hospitalized
6 people in southwestern Poland.
Police blamed pile-up, believed to be
Poland's worst, on drivers going too fast in
poor weather
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9 Apr. | • | Death toll in train derailment in
Kiazi, southern Zaire, reached 100. Accident
happened after one half of divided
train at station rolled back downhill
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|
11 Apr. | • | Fire killed at least 16 people and
injured up to 150 at Dusseldorf International
Airport. Prosecutors opened negligent
homicide probe against construction company
whose welding believed to have
caused fire
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18 Apr. | • | Overcrowded passenger train
collided head-on with freight train in northern
India, killing at least 54, injuring 74, and
sparking riot by angry passengers. Accident
appears due to failure of railway
worker to change points manually
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27 Apr. | • | Toyo Rapid Railway line reopened
after twenty-five years of ceasing
operations (see page 51)
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29 Apr. | • | JR West announces plans to list
stocks on Tokyo and Osaka stock exchanges
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30 Apr. | • | Nearly 60 incidents of sabotage
targeted at JR East reported since early
April ranging from obstacles on tracks,
spraying of hazardous chemical liquids on
train seats and floors, to bogus radio signals
transmitted from radio communication
devices stolen from JR trains. JR East set
up special task force to work with police to
investigate possible links to organized
sabotage
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