1978 in rail transport

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

Events

March events

• March – Pacific Fruit Express dissolves, its fleet of refrigerator cars is distributed between Southern Pacific Railroad and Union Pacific Railroad.

July events

• July 6 – A plastic bag of dirty linens 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.

November events

• November 18 – Brisbane: The Merivale Bridge is officially opened, finally connecting South Brisbane and Roma Street Stations and unifying the Brisbane Suburban network. Originally designed to carry both narrow and standard gauge tracks, the latter was not added until 1986.

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 EMD AEM7.

Deaths