June 7 – The Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, originally built for rail traffic in 1943, opens for combined rail/highway traffic, making it the longest combined rail/highway tunnel in North America.
July 14 – The United States Surface Transportation Board's temporary moratorium on railroad mergers is upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit; the ruling contributes to the failure of the proposed BNSF/CN merger.
August 1 – In Seoul, South Korea, the central section of Line 7 of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway is opened between Sinpung and Koknuk University (18.7 km (11.6 mi)), enabling services to operate fully between Jangam and Onsu.[11]
August 7 – In Seoul, South Korea, the first section of Line 6 of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway is opened between Bonghwasan and Sangwolgok (4.2 km (2.6 mi)).[11]
December 12 – The final 25.7 km (16.0 mi) section of the Toei Oedo Line between Kokuritsu-Kyōgijō and Tochomae opens for service in Tokyo, Japan.[6]
December 15 – In Seoul, South Korea, Line 6 of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway is extended from Sangwolgok to Eungam (30.9 km (19.2 mi)).[11]
Accidents
January 4 – The Åsta accident, a northbound BM92multiple unit and a southbound passenger train headed by a Di 3 locomotive collided on Norway's Rørosbanen line near Åsta station, killing 19 people.
February 6 – The Brühl train disaster; in Brühl, Germany killed 9 when a train negotiated a low speed turnout at three times the correct speed and derailed, on the West Rhine Railway.
October 17 – The Hatfield rail crash, south of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, UK, occurs when a train traveling at 115 mph derails due to a rail that breaks under it. Four people are killed, and there is considerable disruption to the national rail network as the infrastructure is reviewed.[16]
November 11 – A faulty heater aboard a funicular train in Kaprun, Austria, starts a fire in the train's brake fluid while the train is in a tunnel; only twelve of the train's 155 passengers survived the fire in the Kaprun disaster.
December 2 – The Sarai Banjara rail disaster in the Punjab, India killed 46 and injured at least 150 when a freight train derailed into the path of a passenger train.
^"おかげさまで開業２０周年。多摩モノレールは地域に愛されるブランドづくりを進めます。" [Tama Toshi Monorail Celebrates 20 Years of Operation] (PDF). tama-monorail.co.jp (in Japanese). September 10, 2018. Archived from the original(PDF) on February 22, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
^Stephens, Bill (July 2000). "CSX still struggling; Snow re-assumes reins". Trains. 60 (7). Waukesha, WI: Kalmbach Publishing: 16–18. ISSN0041-0934.
^ ab"交通局のあゆみ" [History of the Toei Subway]. kotsu.metro.tokyo.jp (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 4, 2023. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
^Croydon Tramlink opened for business The Railway Magazine issue 1191 July 2000 page 10