OneRail Coalition Comments on the USDOT Strategic Plan for FY2018-22
OneRail supports the Department’s adoption of broad interconnected strategic goals including safety, state of good repair, and economic competitiveness and believes that a mode-neutral, outcome-oriented approach is essential when assessing the appropriate investment for new capacity.
OneRail believes a performance-based approach with emphasis on outcomes is also an important aspect of a strategic plan and recommends the inclusion of performance metrics that guide investment decisions to best serve the national interest.
Our Nation is facing unprecedented challenges and our national transportation policies, programs, and priorities and must be aligned to meet them. OneRail urges that the final plan be used to guide transportation investment and policy decisions based on data that demonstrate how the Nation can achieve other high-priority objectives such as improved safety, reliability and congestion relief. We believe that broad, national strategies should be performance-based, and that select targeted investments in rail are an effective approach to addressing these objectives. Adopting a comprehensive approach to investing in the full transportation system can help achieve multiple objectives within available budgetary resources.
OneRail looks forward to working with the Department to help assure that transportation policies and investments affecting and promoting rail are effectively harmonized as part of a larger integrated strategic vision.
Full text of the OneRail Coalition’s comments can be found below.
