May 16 – The 43.5 kilometres (27.0 mi) stretch of railway between Murska Sobota, Slovenia, and Zalalövő, Hungary, is opened, in part following the route originally opened in 1907 and dismantled in 1968.
May 26 – SNCF sets a new speed record in France when TGV train number 531 travels the 1,067.2 km (663.1 mi) between Calais and Marseilles in 3 hours and 29 minutes at an average speed of 317.46 km/h (197.26 mph).
July 1 – Elipsos (Elipsos Internacional S.A.) – a joint-venture company established by the Spanish and French rail companies SNCF and RENFE to run night-time passenger connections from Spain to France, Switzerland, and Italy – begins operations.
August 31 – 66% interest in Eesti Raudtee, the state railway of Estonia, is sold to a private holding company with international investors "Baltic Rail Services".[3]
September – Remaining rail traffic in Nicaragua suspended.[5]
October events
October – Cuban National Railways purchases its first six-axle GE diesel locomotives (mostly GE C30-7 models) secondhand from Mexican railroads.
October 3 – Canadian Pacific Corporation divests itself of its five major subsidiaries, spinning off Canadian Pacific Railway as an independent company.
December 15 – The Downeaster, a passenger train operated by Amtrak, begins regularly scheduled passenger service between Boston, Massachusetts and Portland, Maine.
August 19 – The Udarata Menike express passenger service from Kurunegala to Alawwa, Sri Lanka, derails on newly installed track, killing 15 passengers in what has come to be known as the Kurunegala train crash.
October 31 – A broken rail on the SNCF in France derails a TGV train travelling at 130 km/h (80.8 mph), but only six minor injuries result.
December 23 – An incorrect brake application on a CSX local train that had stopped to perform switching at Kodak Park (Charlotte, New York) causes the train to run away and derail five miles (8 km) later, destroying homes and businesses in the area.