March 15 – The Osaka Higashi Line is scheduled to open in Osaka, Japan;[5] the opening was originally scheduled for 2006, but delayed due to problems acquiring land.
July 5 – Meeting between Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador regarding a proposed rail link for freight and passengers between the three countries, also connecting the Pacific with the Atlantic.
– Indian Railways expects to complete the conversion of its electrified section in Mumbai from a 1,500 voltDC system to 25,000 volts AC; this will make the Mumbai section's electrification consistent with the rest of Indian Railways' network.
April 28 – 2008 Shandong train collision: Sixty-six people are killed and almost 250 injured when a passenger train from Beijing careers off the rails and slams into another train in eastern China. The rail accident, the worst in China in more than a decade, happens near the city of Zibo in Shandong province.
August 8 – 2008 Studénka train wreck: A EuroCity train en route to Prague strikes a part of a motorway bridge that has fallen onto the track near Studénka station and derails, killing 8 people and injuring 64 others.
^Kyoto Municipal Transportation Bureau (October 17, 2007). 地下鉄東西線二条～太秦天神川間が1月16日に延伸開業 (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 21 October 2007. Retrieved 6 November 2007.
^"おおさか東線が開業" [Osaka Higashi Line opens for service]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). 17 March 2008. Archived from the original on 29 November 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
^"三木鉄道ミキ300-105が樽見鉄道へ" [Miki Railway 300-series unit 105 transferred to Tarumi Railway]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). 12 December 2008. Archived from the original on 6 August 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
^"Setback for new Wrexham service". Railway Magazine. 153 (1273): 12. May 2007.
^"副都心線・有楽町線のダイヤが決定！" [Fukutoshin Line and Yurakucho Line timetables have been decided!]. tokyometro.jp (in Japanese). 27 March 2008. Archived from the original on 18 July 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
^"京阪中之島線が開業" [Keihan Nakanoshima Line opens]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). 31 October 2008. Archived from the original on 21 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
January 16 – The Tozai Line in Kyoto is extended 2.4 km (1.5 mi) from Nijo to Uzumasa-Tenjingawa.[1]
– Official opening of Santo Domingo Metro.
– National Express changes the name of the railway operating company one to National Express East Anglia as part of a company-wide rebranding exercise.[2][3]
March 9 – Sprinter starts service between Oceanside and Escondido, California,[4] reinstating passenger service on the Escondido branch line.
– Kolkata Metro is extended from Tollygunge station to Pranabnagar station.[citation needed]
July 5 – Meeting between Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador regarding a proposed rail link for freight and passengers between the three countries, also connecting the Pacific with the Atlantic.
– China officially opens the Beijing–Tianjin intercity railway line, the first in the world regularly to host trains traveling up to 350 km/h (220 mph).[14][15][16]
– Vietnam expects to complete construction on the Hanoi–Lào Cai railway line upgrade.[23]
– The city of Saint Petersburg, Russia, will begin construction of a new intercity light railway beginning with a 26.5 km (16.5 mi) section between Baltiyskaya Zhemchuzhina and the Obukhovo[ambiguous] metro station.[24]
August 8 – 2008 Studénka train wreck: A EuroCity train en route to Prague strikes a part of a motorway bridge that has fallen onto the track near Studénka station and derails, killing 8 people and injuring 64 others.