This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in 1979.
Eventsedit
Januaryedit
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.
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.
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.
October 22 – The Invergowrie rail crash, in Invergowrie, Scotland, occurs when a track signal fails to switch to a stop indication that would have protected a stalled passenger train; a second passenger train collides with the stalled train, resulting in 5 fatalities.
November 16 – The ER200 begins test runs with passengers between Moscow and Leningrad, the first high-speed train in the Soviet Union, reaching 200 km/h.