VitalRail/About

When OTNA's founder, Michael Sussman, solved his first rail finance challenge in 1995 for the Massachusetts Central Railroad, the question struck him, “Why does the industry that was the reason capital flowed from around the world into North America in the 19^th century need me to solve its funding shortfalls at the end of the 20^th century”? And, given that it has energy-, space-, and capital-efficiencies at the core of its business model, what does that say about Capitalism and society?  

Michael has spent 31 years coordinating railroad financing across 47 states and Canadian provinces, delivering 450+ Congressional briefings on rail policy, and interviewing more than 11,000 stakeholders to understand the full picture. Building on that experience, VitalRail is the comprehensive strategy to turn the chronically underutilized freight rail network into a continent-wide economic engine for sustainable prosperity.

We can no longer afford to pit rail and truck transportation against each other. It is time to shift to using each mode in greater concert. Rail and Trucking productivity will significantly improve within an integrated redesign of our transportation and industrial systems.

With ongoing environmental issues and increasing road congestion and costs, this is an opportune time for railroads to align their business models with the urgent need for better and more sustainable supply chains. As part of an expanding rail industry, investors, infrastructure funds, shippers, and communities, can and will provide ample capital for this growth strategy while enjoying a higher return on investment.

Why do railroads matter?

Railroads are essential to the economic and environmental well-being of any modern society. A steel wheel on a steel rail is five times more energy-efficient than a rubber tire on asphalt for moving heavy freight – yet North America has spent a hundred years reducing its rail network. This matters for natural resource development, agriculture, processing, manufacturing, distribution, recycling, and disposal. Re-shoring industry and strengthening domestic supply chains require moving goods efficiently between all components of each industrial system, which means rail must expand, not contract.

90% to 92% of new industry in North America is truck-served only. As industrial development across North America surges, this is unsustainable from both an environmental and economic perspective. Freight rail service remains essential to industrial, community, and environmental vitality.

Railroads' energy efficiency creates space and capital efficiencies. They are space efficient in that a 100-car train can carry the goods of a 27-mile convoy of 300 tractor-trailers. While each of the 300 trucks passes every 30 seconds for 2.5 hours, the train passes in 4 minutes, providing 2 hours and 26 minutes of quiet. This greatly enhances quality of life for citizens living adjacent to rail lines versus highways.

Railroads’ capital efficiency is evident. Tracks, wheels, and railcars are long-lived requiring much less maintenance and replacement than trucks, tires, and road surfaces. Tire wear of rubber tires rolling on rough asphalt and concrete is one of the greatest sources of microplastics in the oceans and air, with 18 tires on each truck causing a large portion of that pollution. The physical strength of hard steel wheels rolling on hard steel rails enables a dime-size contact patch between the two components. The benefits of the minimal friction from this physics delivers valuable energy, fuel, and emissions savings.

Why is VitalRail needed?

Railroad development requires a whole market and whole-of-society approach. Otherwise, no marketplace magically alchemizes the numerous and divergent individual business agendas and decisions into efficient industrial systems. No existing institution – public or private – is structured to coordinate the multi-stakeholder investment and collaboration required to transform continental rail infrastructure. VitalRail is that coordinating mechanism.

There has never been greater need or opportunity for railroad development to address transportation efficiency and environmental challenges. Fortunately, railroads do not need a government bailout, and they outperform many other industries. That stability—combined with rail technology's inherent efficiencies—delivers high returns on investment when stakeholders work together.

What issues does VitalRail address?

• Citizens are largely uninformed about the environmental, economic, and quality-of-life benefits of rail freight transportation.
• Insufficient growth capital flows to railroads despite their strategic importance and stability.
• Uncoordinated technology adoption among stakeholder groups and sectors hampers modernization.
• Strained labor-management relations impede industry development.
• Landowners, developers, and shippers are inadequately engaged in rail infrastructure planning and service design.
• Limited understanding among capital providers of rail assets, financial statements, and industry stability constrains railroad investment.
• Prioritizing the largest shippers and international goods movement neglects domestic, rural, and small business prosperity.
• Institutional separation between public infrastructure planning, commercial development, and private railroad operations prevents system-wide optimization.
• Current planning approaches and rail marketing focus on standalone projects rather than integrated corridor and regional systems.
• Outdated regulations constrain rail service growth.
• Stakeholders lack effective collaboration mechanisms to resolve competing agendas.

What has VitalRail created to address these issues?

• Catalogued all relevant stakeholder groups whose active participation and knowledge are critical to rail-enabled economic development. Read about 360° Stakeholder Mapping.
• Conceived education and training programs for economic development staff and land developers. Read about Industrial Land Value Optimization.
• Established an approach to rail market development that builds from and benefits entire industrial systems. Learn about Collaborative Industrial Optimization.
• Created state- and province-level rail-enabled economic development planning and investment paradigms. Read the New Blueprint for Rail-Enabled Economic Development.
• Developed an approach that uplifts rural communities by combining individual shipping opportunities into regional and corridor rail service innovations. Read Rail-Enabled Rural Economic Development.
• Invented a public-private capitalization method that increases growth capital for any segment of the rail network and its operator. Read Bridging the Rail Growth Capitalization Gap.
• Pinpointed the comparative ROI and impacts of building, using, and maintaining roads versus railways for land freight movement. Use the FreightImpact Calculator.
• Identified a greater productive role for government as a facilitator and coordinator of effective public policies, land use plans, and catalytic funding that stimulates substantial private investment.
• Designed a large-group dialogue methodology and agendas for stakeholders to address longstanding issues and promote industry-wide progress. Review the VitalRail IntelliConferences.