This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in 2016.
Events
January
January 22–24 – In anticipation of heavy snowfall and preparation for the effects of winter storm Jonas, WMATA shuts down all services for the weekend. Metrorail services are suspended completely for two days and restored to normal service in phases up until January 29. During the shutdown, trains are stored in the system's subway tunnels to shelter them from the storm.[1][2]
March 16 – The entire Washington Metro system, the second-largest subway system in the United States, is shut down on a weekday for 24 hours during emergency inspections of jumper cables in tunnels. The shutdown follows an electrical fire caused by a jumper cable two days prior.[8]
March 26 – The first segment of the Hokkaido Shinkansen opens, bringing high-speed rail service to Hokkaido,[11] following the final run of an overnight locomotive-hauled train in Japan.
July 12 – Andria-Corato train collision: at least 23 people are killed and 50 injured by the head-on collision of two passenger trains on a single-track railroad in the Apulia region of Italy.[24]
September 9 – Cincinnati Bell Connector opens to the public with a free-ride weekend after years of planning and building, bringing streetcar service back to Cincinnati for the first time since the 1950s.
^485系国鉄特急色編成がラストラン [Final run of JNR-liveried 485 series]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. June 19, 2016. Archived from the original on June 19, 2016. Retrieved June 20, 2016.