March 28, 2024

Transportation Advantages in Florida

Reaching the World

Interconnected transportation systems ensure swift, efficient movement of people and products.

Janet Ware | 9/24/2009

SunPass: Convenient and Cost Effective for 10 Years

Sun PassFlorida’s prepaid statewide highway toll program, SunPass, turned 10 in April 2009. One of the largest and most successful prepaid electronic toll programs in the country, SunPass has grown from four lanes in Broward County and 5,000 transponders to a vast network of SunPass-only lanes, express lanes and SunPass-only ramps serving more than 4 million customers statewide. SunPass makes traveling along Florida’s 460 miles of toll highways quick, convenient and cost effective; drivers who elect to purchase the SunPass receive a 25% discount on most Florida tolls.

25 major rail terminals
15 line-haul railroads
17 bulk transfer facilities

Connecting by Rail

Florida moves by rail; 2,796 miles of main route rail lines criss-cross the state to connect major business centers and distribution nodes. Florida’s rail transportation system includes two Class I railroads, two regional railroads, 10 local railroads and one railroad specializing in switching and terminals.

» SunRail
The proposed commuter rail line connecting Volusia County and metropolitan Orlando got another shot in the arm in July 2009. CSX Corporation, which owns the 61.5 miles of track between DeLand and Poinciana on which the SunRail trains will travel, agreed to extend the deadline for approving the sale of those tracks by another six months. Backers of the commuter rail plan are hopeful that a renegotiation of liability issues and the availability of more federal dollars up front to help pay for the $420-million project will sway lawmakers to vote in favor of SunRail this time around.

» CSX Corporation
As part of its participation in a voluntary U.S. Environmental Protection Agency program called Climate Leaders, Jacksonville-based CSX Corporation has announced plans to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in its train operations by 8% per revenue ton mile by 2011. Officials say the move will reduce CO2 emissions by 2.4 million tons, which is the equivalent of taking 441,000 cars off the road each year or burning 5.6 million fewer barrels of oil.

» High-Speed Rail
When the Federal Railroad Administration begins awarding $8 billion dollars in grants under the economic-stimulus program in late 2009 to states with viable plans for building high-speed rail lines, Florida stands a good chance of landing one. A proposal currently on the table calls for a high-speed rail line linking Orlando and Tampa. The proposed bullet train would carry riders from downtown Tampa to Orlando International Airport in about an hour, traveling at average speeds of 90 miles per hour on tracks laid in the median of Interstate 4 and along the Beachline Expressway.

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Florida Trend Video Pick

Structural technology keeps Skyway Bridge safe from mass destruction
Structural technology keeps Skyway Bridge safe from mass destruction

USF marine scientist Mark Luther, says dozens of concrete barriers protecting the bridge from collision is just the beginning of an ongoing effort to keep it safe.

 

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