Events January January – An electrical fire erupts aboard a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train traveling in the transbay tube; the fire kills one firefighter and closes the system for more than two months. February February 1 – The Southern Railway's Southern Crescent becomes Amtrak's Crescent as Southern discontinues independent passenger train service. February 10 – The Philippine National Railways opens its Dagupan Express service on the PNR North Main Line. February 26 – The Superliner railcar enters revenue service with Amtrak. March March – Rio de Janeiro Metro in Brazil begins operation. March 17 – Penmanshiel Tunnel on British Rail collapses during reconstruction, killing two workers. April April 16 – The Paisley Gilmour Street rail accident kills seven people in near Paisley Gilmour Street railway station in Scotland when an Inverclyde Line service from Glasgow Central to Wemyss Bay collided head-on with an Ayrshire Coast Line special service from Ayr. Seven people were killed. May May 1 – The Jubilee line on the London Underground opens between Stanmore and Charing Cross. June June 23 – New South Wales Premier Neville Wran officially opens the Eastern Suburbs Railway in Sydney. It operates as a shuttle between Central & Bondi Junction until full integration with the Illawarra Line during 1980. June 30 – MARTA's rail transit system opens in Atlanta, Georgia as its first train operates on the East Line between Avondale and Five Points Station. It also marks the start of MARTA's combined bus and rail service. July July 1 – The former Nickey line junction with the Midland Main Line at Harpenden Junction is severed. August August 20 – San Diego's Metropolitan Transit Development Board (MTDB) purchases the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway Company in restored condition for $18.1 million. August 20 – The East Coast Main Line rail route between England and Scotland is restored when the Penmanshiel Diversion opens. August 29 – Bangor and Aroostook Railroad discontinues hauling potatoes; it was for this business that the railroad painted many of their boxcars in a distinctive red, white and blue "State of Maine" livery. September September 8 – Restored Nickel Plate 765 is unveiled. September 27 – The Lenk branch of the metre gauge Montreux–Oberland Bernois railway in Switzerland is reopened after a complete rebuilding. October October 1 Hong Kong's first MTR line, the Kwun Tong line from Shek Kip Mei to Kwun Tong, is opened.