VitalRail: A Comprehensive Growth Plan for Rail-Enabled Industrial Productivity/VitalRail Stakeholders

Class I Railroad Leaders

Class I VitalRail leadership that engages all stakeholder groups will produce the solutions and teamwork needed to grow freight rail service for everyone’s benefit.

Class II and III Railroad Leaders

Class I railroads’ full collaboration with Class II and III railroads will enable them to provide increased local rail service that communities need for resilient, sustainable economic activity.

Investors/Banks

Convening rail industry, Wall Street, and Federal government leaders to establish new financial performance measures that support freight rail service growth will unleash all required capital.

Improving banks’ understanding of railroad financials, stability, collateral strength, and growth potential will greatly expand credit availability.

Rail Employees

Positive, collaborative approaches to labor relations will enable productive staff and attract a growing workforce.

Citizens

Rail growth in service to our long-term sustainability and quality of community life will uncork citizens’ vital input and pent-up appreciation for the value of freight railroading.

Shippers

Introducing shippers to a reliable, flexible, expanding rail network will attract new and returning customers who benefit from efficient logistics. Small and large customers will be better served.

Suppliers

Faster adoption of new technologies and those proven effective overseas will bring safety improvements and productivity gains to North American railroads. Growth is contagious across industrial systems.

Economic Developers

Relating proactively through education and support with economic developers and their associations will stimulate a surge in rail-enabled industrial development.

Transportation Planners

Connecting public-sector transportation and economic development plans with private-sector logistics strategies will optimize all transportation and infrastructure investments.

Land Developers

Proactive interactions among railroad staff, landowners, and developers will enable more projects to become “shovel-ready,” with rail already integrated into the development concept.

Realtors and Site Selectors

Partnering with realtors and site selectors in their advisory efforts will boost the use of rail transportation and expand the market opportunity for them and their clients.

Researchers

Cultivating OTNA’s “Solution-Driven Research” approach will empower researchers to conceive pragmatic research that advances workable solutions.

Other Transportation Modes and Services

Collaborating and integrating with other transport modes and services, e.g., trucking and transloading, will create new levels of efficiency and dependability and lower the impact of goods movement on communities.

Government Leaders

A broader industrial development strategy with railroads' value at its center will lead to supportive policies and additional public-sector rail investment.