WASHINGTON – Amtrak passengers can now plan trips, purchase tickets, modify existing reservations, check train schedules and status, and view station information from the convenience of an i-Phone with the free Amtrak application (app) now available through i-Tunes. The new app provides quick, convenient and on-the-go Amtrak travel planning and... Continue reading

TAMPA – The Transportation Security Administration plans to implement new imaging technology software called “Automated Target Recognition” at Tampa International Airport (TPA), as well as at St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport (PIE)and Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) within weeks. The scanner aims to enhance passenger privacy by producing a generic outline... Continue reading

ORLANDO – LYNX, the Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority, is looking for transportation supervisors. The jobs pay $21.20 an hour. Responsibilities include supervising the activities of bus operators; supporting the needs of bus operators; maintaining LYNX’ service standards; ensuring on-time performance of bus routes; problem solving; investigating accidents, incidents, and... Continue reading

MIAMI – Norwegian Cruise Line is inviting Florida Alabama and Georgia residents on a “freestyle “cruising vacation to the Caribbean or Bahamas with special rates on select sailings in 2011 and 2012 for new cruise reservations booked beginning Monday, August 15 through Sunday, August 21. Norwegian’s cruises offer residents a... Continue reading

SOUTH TAMPA -- Several small businesses in South Tampa are bracing for a major road closure scheduled for next week. Dale Mabry, just north of Gandy Boulevard will be shut down in both direction for several days as CSX replaces some older railroad tracks, including ties and rails. Florida DOT... Continue reading

File photo | Leo King General freight showed modest gains last week, says the AAR. This northbound local CSX train has just passed Wells Road in Orange Park in 2007. WASHINGTON – The Association of American Railroads (AAR) yesterday reported modest gains in weekly rail traffic, with U.S. railroads originating... Continue reading

WASHINGTON – USDOT this week fined two companies for violating the department’s rules governing charter flights. Aviation Advantage, Inc. (AAI) of Atlanta was assessed a civil penalty of $150,000 and Swift Air, LLC, of Phoenix was assessed a civil penalty of $100,000. “Air travelers using charter services have rights, just... Continue reading

FORT WORTH, Texas – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing $155,000 in civil penalties against American Eagle Airlines of Fort Worth for allegedly operating eight flights with incorrect weight and balance data, and for using improper maintenance procedures when repairing a jet engine and then operating the aircraft when... Continue reading

Photo | anna.aero MIA is an American Airlines hub. MIAMI-DADE COUNTY – Passenger traffic at Miami International Airport (MIA) continued to surge in the first half of 2011 with total volume up 6.8 percent through June, according to statistics from the Miami-Dade Aviation Department. MIA saw 18.8 million travelers in... Continue reading

WASHINGTON – USDOT reported this week that U.S. airlines carried 63.8 million scheduled domestic and international passengers in May, a 3.9 percent increase from May 2010. The May 2011 passenger total was also 6.9 percent above that of two years ago but remained 3.3 percent below the early recession level... Continue reading

WASHINGTON – The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) stated this week that it has no intention to propose new regulations governing the transport of agricultural products. The agency also released guidance designed to make sure states clearly understand the common sense exemptions that allow farmers, their employees, and their... Continue reading

TAMPA BAY – A Tampa TV station is alleging improprieties – if not wrongdoing – by SunRail executives in promoting the coming$1.2 billion commuter rail service project. Reporter Noah Pransky at WTSP Tampa wrote that in the past seven years, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has spent $1.7 million... Continue reading

File photo | Leo King Two significant road projects will begin in Jacksonville within a few days. JACKSONVILLE – Florida DOT is starting two big road projects in this Northeast Florida city. They will cost nearly $4 million to complete. In the bigger job, a resurfacing and improvement project on... Continue reading

MIAMI - Florida transportation officials are beginning to design an expanded network of SunPass express lanes that would link major expressways in Miami-Dade and Broward counties over the next 10 years, secretary of transportation Ananth Prasad said Wednesday in Miami. Variable-toll express lanes already exist on I-95 from Miami north... Continue reading

JACKSONVILLE – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Jacksonville Port Authority (JaxPort), will hold a public workshop for the Jacksonville Harbor (Mile Point) Navigational Study on Monday, August 15 at the Univ. of North Florida (UNF) University Center, Room 1058. The public workshop will feature an open house... Continue reading

Photo | Star Center Cable laying vessels crews need to be properly trained. DANIA BEACH – Star Center said yesterday it is launching into the “Dynamic Positioning” (DP) Training market, expanding its comprehensive world-class simulation training services to the offshore, cable laying and cruise ship markets in the Gulf of... Continue reading

ST. AUGUSTINE – The Florida DOT plans tomorrow to discuss proposed improvements at the intersection of State Roads 13 and 16 and County Road 13 in northwestern St. Johns County. The public meeting is scheduled at the Trout Creek Park Pavilion, 6795 Collier Road, in St. Augustine. An open house... Continue reading

Photo | Carnival Cruise Lines Carnival Breeze, Carnival Cruise Lines' newest veseel, gets it bridge in the Italian shipyard. MONFALCONE, Italy – Carnival Cruise Lines’ newest ship, the 130,000-ton Carnival Breeze, is under construction at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone. The 3,690-passenger vessel is slated to debut in Europe June... Continue reading

Rendering | City of Winter Park via Orlando Sentinel SunRail’s Winter Park station is expected to look like this. Construction should start this time next year. Winter Park officials on Monday approved design tweaks to its future SunRail stop, allowing for wider canopies and platforms that can accommodate more passengers... Continue reading

WASHINGTON – Planning vacations by rail just got easier with the launch of the newly designed AmtrakVacations.com website. Amtrak Vacations offers a variety of single-city rail getaways and multi-city rail journeys across the United States and Canada. AmtrakVacations.com offers complete travel packages including hotel accommodations, sightseeing attractions, activities, dining and... Continue reading

It would abandon its line... between milepost 581.3 at Andalusia, Ala., and milepost 624.2 at Geneva, Ala., a distance of 42.9 miles Continue reading

Batterson named to Expressway Authority Photo | Governor’s office TALLAHASSEE – Richard Batterson, right, is the newest member of the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority. Batterson, 35, of Orlando, is a civil engineer for IBI Group, Inc. He succeeds Mark C. Filburn and was appointed for a term that began yesterday... Continue reading

WASHINGTON – CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT) said yesterday it’s okay to extend a deadline to make nearly 18 miles of its West Virginia track to become a trail. Marion County Commissioners requested a notice of interim trail use-rail banking for approximately 17.51 miles of CSX railroad in its Southern Region,... Continue reading

Florida may still get its first taste of high-speed rail from an unlikely source: Georgia. Continue reading

“Jupiter is the Rosetta Stone of our solar system.” Continue reading