VitalRail/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 economic and environmental 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.