Transportation

Michael Ward, CSX Corp. [Photo: CSX]

CSX Corp. (Public No. 9) provides rail and intermodal transport services to 23 eastern states over a 21,000-mile rail network and last year played a pivotal role in the effort to bring high-speed rail to Florida. In a deal struck late last year, the state will pay the railroad giant $432 million for 61 miles of track along which the state plans to establish the “SunRail” commuter rail line in central Florida. Chairman and CEO Michael Ward, who earned just over $7 million last year, has vowed that 100% of the proceeds from that sale will be reinvested in Florida on infrastructure upgrades.

» RailAmerica (not ranked), which employs 2,500, including 400 at its Jacksonville headquarters, is one of the nation’s leading short-line and regional track operators. While Fortress Investment Group took the railroad operator private in a $1.1-billion deal, President and CEO John Giles guided the company back to the New York Stock Exchange through a $357-million IPO last fall.

» Spirit Airlines (Private No. 36), the edgy discount air carrier headquartered in Miramar, is the largest airline operating out of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, flying more than 4 million passengers in or out of the airport 2009. But the nation’s largest privately owned air carrier is blazing through uncharted territory with its recent announcement that it will begin charging passengers $20 to $45 for carry-on bags. CEO Ben Baldanza makes no apologies for the new policy, which he says is necessary to solve the industry’s “carry-on crisis.”

OUT-OF-STATE FIRMS: DHL, the delivery and logistics company headquartered in Germany, employs about 500 at its Americas headquarters in Plantation. The carrier has eliminated U.S. domestic-only air and ground service to focus solely on serving international shipping. — Amy Keller