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This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in 1978.

Events

March events

• March 1 - Australian National Railways Commission takes over Tasmanian Government Railways and freight and non-metropolitan operations of South Australian Railways.
• March - Pacific Fruit Express dissolves its fleet of refrigerator cars, which is distributed between Southern Pacific Railroad and Union Pacific Railroad.

July events

• July 6 - A plastic bag of dirty linen carelessly placed against the electric heater in the vestibule of a sleeping car traveling between Penzance and London Paddington, England causes the Taunton train fire.

September events

• September 12 - The longest tunnel in New Zealand (8896m), the Kaimai Rail Tunnel on the East Coast Main Trunk Railway opened.

October events

• October 29 - VIA Rail assumes all passenger train operations of the Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian National in Canada.
• October 31 - The last passenger train departs from St. Louis Union Terminal.

November events

• November 7 - The Illinois Railway Museum celebrates its 25th anniversary.^[1]
• November 18 - The Merivale Bridge is officially opened, finally connecting South Brisbane Railway Station and Roma Street Railway Station and unifying the Brisbane Suburban network. Originally designed to carry both narrow gauge and standard gauge tracks, the latter was not added until 1986.

December events

• December 4 - Union Pacific Railroad and Chicago and North Western Railway jointly announce an agreement to build into Wyoming's Powder River Basin to access the numerous coal mines in the area.^[2]
• December 31 - The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad operates its last passenger trains, the Peorian and a Chicago to Rock Island train.

Unknown date events

• The Stone Arch Bridge built by the Great Northern Railway across the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota sees its final use as a railroad bridge; the bridge is converted for pedestrian and bicycle use.
• The Itel Corporation purchases the Green Bay and Western.
• General Motors Electro-Motive Division introduces the AEM-7.

Deaths

May deaths

• May - Harold W. Burtness, president Chicago Great Western Railway 1946-1948, dies (b. 1879).

References

• Rivanna Chapter, National Railway Historical Society (2005), This month in railroad history - October. Retrieved October 31, 2005.