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The Intermodal Transportation Institute’s (ITI) board recently re-elected Stephen Branscum as chairman. BNSF Railway Co.’s group vice president-consumer products, Branscum will serve another two-year term.

In addition, ITI’s board addressed the need for a new national transportation policy at its annual spring meeting held recently in Washington, D.C. Speakers discussed a policy that would be guided by long-term planning and focus on critical infrastructure projects.

“It’s apparent that the DOT is in the process of creating a new transportation paradigm that supports Secretary LaHood’s statements that the nation needs to move more trucks off the highways in order to relieve stress and congestion, and evolve toward a more efficient and sustainable intermodal solution,” said Gil Carmichael, founding chairman of ITI at the University of Denver, in a prepared statement. “Indications are that the trucking industry is partnering with the freight railroads to have the railroads move an increased amount of cargo and containers, as opposed to trailers. This more fuel-efficient and connective intermodal system could easily double freight capacity in the U.S.”
 
Speakers also discussed how President Obama’s high-speed, intercity passenger-rail plan fits into the new transportation paradigm. The next step in developing new transportation infrastructure is finding a way to fund it, said Carmichael. The government could create two intermodal taxes: one for freight movement, such as a ton-mile or container mile tax, and one for passenger movements, such as a vehicle or passenger-mile tax, he believes.

“We have the technology in place to collect these new taxes now,” said Carmichael.