June 9 – The Staplehurst rail crash in England, a derailment at a permanent way work site, kills ten and injures 49; Charles Dickens is amongst the survivors.
September 1 – The English company John Trevor-Barkley begins construction on the Bucharest–Giurgiu line, the first railroad line built in the territory of Romania.
October 2 – First section of Sri Lanka Railways, at this time known as Ceylon Government Railways, officially opens from Colombo to Ambepussa (54 km (34 mi)) on 5 ft 6in (1676 mm) gauge.[11][page needed]