Amtrak adds trains, airlines add planes for presidential inauguration – Amtrak will add more trains from Boston to Washington, D.C. on Inauguration Day to deal with the large number of people expected to see President-Elect Barack Obama take the oath of office. Southwest Airlines will also add 26 flights to the region while Delta Air Lines/Northwest Airlines are adding 5,000 seats by using larger planes. Public transportation is expected to be swamped during the inaugural weekend and patience is encouraged, police said. Motorists will have the roughest time in Washington, finding road and bridge closures and little, if any, parking. [Source: Associated Press]
Delta flight diverted to dump “unruly” passenger — An Atlanta-bound Delta Air Lines flight was diverted to a Canadian airport to dump an “unruly” passenger Sunday afternoon. Flight 47, a transatlantic flight from Moscow to Atlanta stopped at Gander International Airport in Newfoundland and a 39-year-old Russian man was taken into custody by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, a Delta spokeswoman said. The plane’s captain made the decision to divert the plane but the spokeswoman declined to give details why the man was removed. The flight had 206 passengers and no one was harmed on the flight. [Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Calgary Herald]
India buys eight patrol aircraft from Boeing for $2.1 billion — The Indian government reported today that it signed a $2.1 billion deal with Boeing Co. for eight P-8I maritime patrol aircraft which will help update its aging fleet. The P-8I, a proposed Indian version of the U.S. Navy’s P-8A aircraft, would survey the country’s coastline and could be used in both surface and antisubmarine warfare. The first planes should be delivered in 2013. [Source: Dow Jones]
More ferries proposed for San Francisco Bay Area — Bay Area transportation managers are proposing a $400 million ferry system expansion which would add seven more routes and triple ridership to 12 million a year. The ferries are an alternative to driving and could reduce traffic congestion, but some experts say the small numbers of riders, pricey parking lots on shoreline property and development near fragile ecosystems don’t justify the price tag. Although $250 million of the cost is supposed to come from a state bond passed in 2006, additional funds haven’t been secured. [Source: San Jose Mercury News]
