VitalRail/VitalRail FAQs

How are CAPSI/VitalRail IntelliConferences different from other collaboration events?  

CAPSI/VitalRail IntelliConferences include stakeholders across industries, sectors, and job disciplines. They cover the many subjects needed to fulfill VitalRail's service growth goals. Our work always pursues the question, "Where is the breakthrough?” toward solving problems and advancing opportunities.

How will more opinions on developing the freight industry get anything done faster?

Our initiative brings together individuals and organizations actively involved in these fields. While technical forums and varied perspectives abound, we facilitate evidence-based discourse. This approach emphasizes verifiable data and informed expertise rather than biases and assumptions.

Who decides topics and content?

While organizing IntelliConferences, initiating experts, participants, and sponsors work with VitalRail staff to introduce topics and Core Questions. Via IntelliSynthesis dialogues, these topic areas are refined toward intended goals. Outlier input is always addressed.

What exactly do VitalRail organizers, facilitators, and participants do?

They ask and answer well-conceived questions, contributing to a body of collective intelligence and new paths forward. Each goal-oriented IntelliConference Series occurs over a specified time frame, including 1) An Introductory IntelliConference, 2) A series of Exploratory IntelliConferences, and 3) A Summary IntelliConference. Staff ensure continuity and clarity.

How do participants keep track of what is happening in the dialogue process?

With the help of a VitalRail Facilitation Team, who send each round of questions to your inbox, review all responses, create a summary of all participants’ input, and interact productively with all outlier perspectives.  

I am busy; how do I keep up with progress on the subjects and goals?

All input is cataloged in a transparent “Multilogue Record” with a Wikipedia-like structure, rendering all content easily accessible. Summary pages provide the latest stakeholder interaction toward the stated goals. Staff facilitators are always available to answer questions and clarify issues.

When will VitalRail events take place?

We will commence producing the first VitalRail series in April 2025.

Where will the VitalRail events take place?

VitalRail IntelliConferences are conducted primarily online, where you can input on your own schedule and location. Occasional gatherings are convened on Zoom for the group to begin or end an IntelliConference Series or to focus on a specific conversation that is best addressed in real time.  

Who are VitalRail’s producers?

VitalRail is a project of OnTrackNorthAmerica, a 501c3 nonprofit industrial planning and policy organization founded by Michael Sussman in 2017. OnTrackNorthAmerica is informed by his team’s work at Strategic Rail Finance, which has advised infrastructure companies and public agencies on rail-related projects, systems, and economic development since 1994 in 44 U.S. States and three Canadian Provinces. OnTrackNorthAmerica’s autonomy is preserved by its Trustees, who maintain adherence to the OTNA/CAPSI Ethics, including its first statement on Objectivity: OnTrackNorthAmerica does not accept financial sponsorships that require prioritization of individual business agendas over shared interests.  

Aren't leaders within federal government agencies, railroads, and trucking companies responsible for any changes in freight service?

The leaders of key organizations are doing their best to bring about a better freight system. Still, the effort takes more than the leaders operating in business, and bureaucratic silos can advance. Real progress requires participation from ALL stakeholder sectors: government, the public, business, agency regulators, funders, advocacy, labor, academia, and industry media to ensure a viable system is built in a timely, cost-effective, and safe manner.

Who pays CAPSI and VitalRail costs of doing this organizing work?

The OTNA founder and several individual donors have provided the funds to design CAPSI and the initial Industrial System Initiatives such as VitalRail and its IntelliConferences. Industry, government, and foundations are now invited to support CAPSI and VitalRail’s sustained progress.

How are anti-trust concerns addressed?

VitalRail interactions are informed by the 2020 Antitrust Guidelines for Collaborations among Competitors, issued by the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.