Winter means a lot of great things; sledding, skiing and, of course, hot chocolate. Unfortunately, it's also the season when the most home fires occur.

The Cranford Fire Department has some tips on staying safe during this season of cold weather.

Winter weather and long, lonely stretches of highway can make traveling along Interstates 90 and 94 treacherous. Having a wide variety of both real-time and reference information can make for a safer trip and provide confidence before heading out. The Western Transportation Institute recently launched North/West Passage. The institute's director, Steve Albert, gave Transportation Radio some background on the project.

Rein Jelle Terpstra is a professor of art and photography at the Minerva Academy of Fine Arts in Groningen, Netherlands. He's in the midst of writing a book about the funeral train that carried the body of assassinated US Senator Robert F. Kennedy from New York to Washington, DC. Transportation Radio spoke with Professor Terpstra and asked him to tell us about the project.

Since colonial times ferries were a primary means of travel between New Jersey and New York. For much of the 19th and 20th centuries, many of those ferries were run by railroads. Those ferry services disappeared in the 1960s but in 1986 a new company, NY Waterway, brought ferries back to the Hudson River. The man behind the company is Arthur Imperatore, Sr. Not only is he the founder, but at 90 years of age he's still actively involved as president and CEO.

It's not always available as a choice, but when it is millions of Americans choose to use public transportation rather than drive. HNTB just released a survey the examined why they are making that choice. Michael Townes, HNTB's transit sector market leader and a senior vice president, spoke with Transportation Radio about the survey beginning with an overview.

At the end of the 19th century, a railroad was built in then rural Union County, New Jersey. For nearly a hundred years the Rahway Valley Railroad served a handful of towns on its 11 miles of track. Richard King has written two books about the short line and he talked with Transportation Radio's Bernie Wagenblast about the railroad and its unique personalities.

The highest honor ITS New Jersey can bestow is induction into its Hall of Fame. At this year's annual meeting, the organization added Xerox's Ken Philmus to the HOF. Philmus spoke with Transportation Radio's Bernie Wagenblast.

NJ Transit Executive Director Ronnie Hakim spoke to the ITS New Jersey annual meeting on Friday and talked about how the agency is using technology to improve the experience for customers. Transportation Radio's Bernie Wagenblast caught up with her after her speech to learn more.

Sam Schwartz, a former New York City Traffic Commissioner and Chief Engineer of the NYC Department of Transportation, recently authored Street Smart: The Rise of Cities and the Fall of Cars. The book looks at how America's cities are changing as people, especially ones, are driving less. Sam talked with Transportation Radio's Bernie Wagenblast about how changing demographics are changing transportation.

Transportation professionals from around the world will have an opportunity to network and see the latest in intelligent transportation systems at the ITS World Congress in Bordeaux, France October 5-9. Transportation Radio spoke with Rasmus Lindholm, ERTICO's Director of Partnership Development and Communication, to learn more about the event as well as the organization.