This article lists important dates in rail transport. 2009 January events January 1 – Oscar Grant III is shot by BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle on a busy Bay Area Rapid Transit platform. See: Shooting of Oscar Grant January 12 – official opening of Docklands Light Railway London City Airport branch extension under the River Thames to Woolwich Arsenal. January 23 – Canadian National Railway closes on purchase of Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway. February events February 2 – opening of WES Commuter Rail line from Wilsonville, Oregon, to Beaverton; see https://trimet.org for more information. February 17 – The international connection between Perpignan, Roussillon, France, and Figueres, Catalonia, Spain, through the Perthus Tunnel on the Perpignan–Barcelona high-speed rail line is officially opened. February 28 – opening of East West MRT Line extension of additional two stations from Boon Lay. Trains by this date no longer terminate at Boon Lay Station. March events March – first section of Istanbul-Ankara High Speed Rail Line, between Ankara and Eskişehir (), opens. – the Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge is officially opened to rail traffic. March 16 – reopening of New York City's South Ferry Station after four years of renovation. March 20 – Hanshin Namba Line, Amagasaki-Namba route to open, with Hanshin Sannomiya-Kintetsu Nara direct commuter express train starting. March 31 – the deadline for securing financing for the Amman-Zarqa Light Rail System by the Kuwaiti-led consortium passed, effectively voiding the projects after more than 10 years in planning. The deadline had already been extended twice before. April events May events May – Russian Railways introduces hybrid DT1 multiple unit into service out of Baltiysky railway station in Saint Petersburg. May 1 – Pan Am Southern, a joint venture between Pan Am Railways and Norfolk Southern Railway, begins operation. May 28 – Singapore Circle MRT Line Stage 3 ready for service using three-car Alstom trains. June events July events July 18 – Sound Transit Central Link light rail line in Seattle, Washington opens, utilizing the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel. – link between Kerman and Zahedan joins Europe and the Middle East subcontinent for the first time, albeit with break-of-gauge. August events August 16 – Kowloon Southern Link, an extension of the KCRC West Rail Line in Hong Kong, completed and opened. August 17 – opening of Canada Line rapid transit line in Vancouver, British Columbia. August 30 – new Portland Transit Mall light-rail alignment opens