2021 in rail transport

This article lists events related to rail transport that are currently scheduled to occur in 2021. Please be aware that the actual dates on which these events occur may differ substantially from what is shown here.

Years in rail transport

2020 in rail transport 2021 in rail transport 2022 in rail transport

Events

January

• January 4 – The Island Line, Isle of Wight temporarily closes for renovations and Class 483 units are withdrawn from service.[1] The cars originally operated on the London Underground starting in 1938.

February

• February 7 – Transport for Wales Rail takes over the Wales & Borders franchise from KeolisAmey Wales.[2]

March

• Expected – Blackpool Tramway extension to Blackpool North railway station begins operation.[3]

April

• April 1 (expected) – The Island Line, Isle of Wight recommences service using Class 484 units.[4]
• April 30 – The first section of Milan Metro Line 4, between Forlanini FS and Linato Aeroporto, opening.[5] The section will be disconnected from the rest of Milan Metro network.

May

• May 10 – SNCF open-access operator Ouigo scheduled to begin low-cost high-speed rail passenger services over the Madrid–Barcelona high-speed rail line.[6]

June

• June 23 – Renfe scheduled to begin Avlo low-cost high-speed rail passenger services over the Madrid–Barcelona high-speed rail line.[6]
• – Rennes Metro line B opening.[7]

July

• – Planned opening of MRT Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya Line phase 1.
• – The Washington Metro Silver Line is projected to be extended to Ashburn station via Washington Dulles International Airport.[8][9][10][11]

August

• August 9 – Tampere light rail opening.[12]

September

• – Expected start of operation Belgrade–Stara Pazova section at 200 km/h (120 mph).[13]
• – Earliest expected completion of the Northern line extension to Battersea.[14]
• – Seattle's Northgate Link extension is scheduled to open.[15][16]
• – Expected opening of Metro Express (Mauritius) phase 2.

October

• – A new light rail line is expected to commence operations between El Salam, New Administrative Capital, and 10th of Ramadan City.[17]
• – MRTA Pink Line opening.[18]

November

• – Serbia's Stara Pazova–Novi Sad railway to start high-speed operation.
• – Bangkok's Red Line Mass Transit System Project's opening.[19]

December

• – Planned opening of Green Line Extension to Somerville and Medford, Massachusetts.[20]
• – Planned opening of Vientiane–Boten railway, 160 km/h service.[21]

Unknown date

• – Several São Paulo Metro lines opening.
• – Yonge–University–Spadina Line is expected to introduce ATC at the full length of line (by 2018 it's only partial).
• – Expected completion of Edmonton's Valley Line.[22]
• – Opening of Line 11, extension of Capital Airport Express, and the remaining sections of Line 8 and Line 14 of Beijing Subway.[23]
• – Opening of the remaining section of Beijing-Shenyang high-speed railway.[24]
• – Odense Letbane opening.[25]
• – upgrading of Ringsted - Fehrman line will speed up services to Germany.
• – Karlsruhe Stadtbahn city centre tunnel expected completion.[26][27][28][29]
• – Indonesia's Jakarta–Bandung high-speed rail operation start.
• – Expected opening of Milan Metro Line 1 extension to Monza.[30]
• – Amsterdam metro to introduce 24-hour operation during weekends.
• – Moscow Central Circle is claimed to start driverless operation.
• – Riyadh Metro to reach its peak length of 176 km (just two years after its opening).
• Q1 – Thomson–East Coast MRT line Stage 2 is scheduled to open.[31]
• – Thomson–East Coast MRT line Stage 3 is scheduled to open.[32]
• – Flixtrain plans to begin operating long-distance passenger services from Stockholm.[33]

• – Expected opening of the West Midlands Metro Birmingham Westside extension.[34][35][36]

• – The Mid-Coast Trolley extension is expected to begin service in San Diego, California.[37]
• – Caltrain service in California is expected to be extended to Salinas.[38]
• Summer – Avelia Liberty trains are expected to be introduced, replacing Acela Express trains along the Northeast Corridor.[39]
• – Expected opening of the Tempe Streetcar in the Phoenix, Arizona area.[40][41]
• – Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Crenshaw/LAX Line expected to open after several delays.[42]
• – Tri-Rail Downtown Miami Link is expected to open.[43]
• – Texas Central Railway expected to begin construction on a high-speed rail system between Houston and Dallas.[44]
• – Amtrak Cascades service is expected to restart over the Point Defiance Bypass. The rail line was closed in 2017 after the service's inaugural run through the corridor resulted in a derailment.[45]
• – Honolulu Rail Transit is expected to begin limited passenger operations.[46]
• – Planned opening of the Center City Corridor expansion of LYNX streetcar service in Charlotte, North Carolina.[47]

References

1. Little, Lori (January 3, 2021). "Island Line trains reach the end of the line". Isle of Wright County Press. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
2. "Written Statement: Future of Rail update". Welsh Government. October 22, 2020. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020.
3. "'Significant progress' made on Blackpool town centre investment plans". Blackpool Gazette. February 27, 2019.
4. Marriott, Alan (August 20, 2020). "Isle of Wight faces three months with no trains on Island Line". Isle of Wight County Press. Newsquest. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
5. Andrea Senesi (September 1, 2021). "Scavi M4, il muro romano trasloca dal cantiere del metrò al parco archeologico". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved January 12, 2021.
6. Keeley, Graham (January 26, 2021). "Spain launches low-cost, high-speed train line with €5 tickets – as UK struggles to complete HS2 project". i. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
7. "Rennes - À Rennes, la mise en service de la ligne B du métro de nouveau reportée". Le Telegramme (in French). August 14, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
8. Smith, Max (March 30, 2020). "Metro sets fare hikes, bus cuts in budget — with coronavirus caveat". WTOP. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
9. "More cracks were found at Silver Line stations. Here's what needs to happen before Metro opens Phase 2". Greater Greater Washington. September 11, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
10. Di Caro, Martin (April 27, 2015). "Second Phase Of Silver Line Delayed By At Least 13 Months". WAMU. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
11. Pascale, Jordan (November 25, 2019). "The Silver Line's Second Phase Is Looking At A Potential September Opening Date". DCist. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
12. "Tampereen Ratikka". Retrieved May 17, 2020.
13. Bjelotomic, Snezana (May 6, 2020). "Belgrade-Novi Sad fast rail to open in autumn of 2021". Serbian Monitor. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
14. Prynn, Jonathan; Sleigh, Sophia (December 21, 2018). "TfL under fire as Battersea Tube extension is delayed by 'miscalculations'". Evening Standard. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
15. "Rail News - Sound Transit seeks input on proposed service changes. For Railroad Career Professionals". Progressive Railroading. September 24, 2020. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
16. "Northgate Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridge". Seattle Department of Transportation. City of Seattle. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
17. Warrier, Ranju (October 7, 2020). "Egypt to begin operations of Light Rail Transit project in October 2021". Construction Week. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
18. Theparat, Chatrudee (October 30, 2020). "Tangled lines". Bangkok Post. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
19. "รถไฟสายสีแดง มี.ค.64". Thai PBS. November 16, 2020.
20. Dungca, Nicole (December 7, 2016). "New Green Line stations are delayed until 2021". Boston Globe. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
21. "China's rail network opens up transport links in Laos". The Star. January 20, 2020.
22. December 11, Jeff Labine Updated; 2019 (December 11, 2019). "Concrete mass in river delaying Valley Line southeast LRT | Edmonton Journal". Retrieved December 13, 2019.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
23. "定了！北京地铁11号线西段、首都机场线西延今年开通". January 6, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
24. "京哈高铁将于明年初开通运营". December 23, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
25. "Odense Letbane takes delivery of its first tram". Railway Gazette International.
26. "Über 1,3 Milliarden Euro und die Eröffnung Ende 2020 ist auch in Gefahr: Zeitplan der Kombilösung kaum zu halten". ka-news. May 9, 2019.
27. Kaute, Florian (January 22, 2020). "Entscheidung bestätigt: Gleise kommen raus aus der Kaiserstraße". meinKA.
28. "Die U-Strab in Karlsruhe kommt wohl ein halbes Jahr später". Badische Neueste Nachrichten. June 25, 2020.
29. ka-news (July 2, 2020). "Verzögerung durch Wasserschaden: Stadtbahntunnel geht erst ein halbes Jahr später in Betrieb | ka-news".
30. Rosario Palazzolo (April 1, 2019). "Cinisello, i lavori al centro commerciale vanno avanti: nessuna sospensiva". Il Giorno (in Italian). Retrieved October 10, 2019.
31. "Second stage of Thomson-East Coast Line to open early 2021 after delays due to COVID-19: Ong Ye Kung". CNA. September 4, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
32. "Founders' Memorial MRT station added to Thomson-East Coast Line". CNA. January 7, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2020. The third stage... is scheduled to open from 2021 onwards.
33. Briginshaw, David (September 15, 2020). "Germany's open-access operator revamped and ready to grow". International Railway Journal. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
34. Midland Metro extension gets 59.8 million green light from government Department for Transport 1 September 2017
35. Midland Metro secures funds for Edgbaston extension International Railway Journal 1 September 2017
36. How the new tram to Edgbaston will look Birmingham Mail 2 September 2017
37. "SANDAG :: PROJECTS :: San Diego's Regional Planning Agency". www.sandag.org. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
38. Johnson, Jim (August 3, 2018). "Salinas rail extension project set for groundbreaking ceremony". Monterey Herald. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
39. Mann, Ted (May 12, 2019). "Amtrak's next-generation Acela cars taking shape". Market Watch. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
40. West, Bryan (January 22, 2018). "Rails delivered to Tempe for 3-mile streetcar project". KPNX. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
41. MacDonald-Evoy, Jerod (June 12, 2018). "From pickleball to bikepaths: What's in the Tempe budget for you". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
42. Nelson, Laura J. (April 10, 2020). "Construction problems delay Metro's $2-billion Crenshaw Line opening until 2021". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
43. Poblete, Gabriel (July 21, 2020). "Brightline might bypass five new rail platforms". Miami Today. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
44. Luczak, Marybeth (September 22, 2020). "Construction of Texas high-speed line due to start in 2021". International Railway Journal. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
45. Kuo, Shaun (December 2, 2020). "Amtrak Cascades Sets Timeline for Point Defiance Bypass Restart and New Trains". Urbanist. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
46. Honore, Marcel (November 24, 2020). "Rail's Interim Service Could Be Pushed Back A Year Amid COVID-19, Testing Woes". Honolulu Civil Beat. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
47. Burkins, Glenn (December 7, 2021). "Gold Line extension set to open in early 2021". QCity Metro. Retrieved January 30, 2021.