59 Hindu pilgrims die aboard the Sabarmati Express train burned by Muslim extremists at Godhra in the Indian state of Gujarat. May 2 – An eastbound Canadian National train collides with a trailer near Firmdale, Manitoba, Canada; about 20 cars carrying plastic pellets, benzene, glycol and hexane catch fire, forcing the evacuation of nearly 200 local residents. May 10 – The Potters Bar rail crash occurs at Potters Bar railway station, north of London, England, when a northbound West Anglia Great Northern Class 365 passenger train derails at high speed, killing seven and seriously injuring another eleven. May 13 – Jaunpur train crash: the Shramjivi Express, travelling from New Delhi to Patna, India, strikes a sabotaged section of rail and derails at Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, killing 12 people. May 25 – The Tenga rail disaster of May 2002 occurred at Tenga 40 km north-west from Maputo, Mozambique; there were 192 deaths with 167 injured. June 4 – The Kasganj level crossing disaster happened near the town of Kasganj in Uttar Pradesh, India. An express train collided with a bus, killing 49 people. June 24 – In the Igandu train disaster, a large passenger train in Tanzania with over 1,200 people on board rolls backwards down a hill into a stationary goods train, killing 281 people. September 10 – At least 130 people are killed in the Rafiganj train disaster in India, where a passenger train derails on a bridge and falls into a river. Naxalite sabotage is suspected. September 15 - A Norfolk Southern freight train derails in Farragut, Tennessee resulting in a hazardous materials release of fuming Sulfuric acid and evacuation of more than 2,600 nearby residents for nearly three days. Damage was estimated at just over one million USD. December 21 – The Kurnool train crash happened in Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh, India, when a passenger train derailed, killing 20 people. Awards Japan Awards presented by Japan Railfan Club 2002 Blue Ribbon Award: JR East E257 series Azusa / Kaiji EMU 2002 Laurel Prize: JR West KiHa 187 series DMU North America 2002 E. H. Harriman Awards Awards presented by Railway Age magazine 2002 Railroader of the Year: E. Hunter Harrison (BN, IC, CN) 2002 Regional Railroad of the Year: Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad 2002 Short Line Railroad of the Year: Winchester and Western Railroad United Kingdom Train Operator of the Year 2002: References Some