Call it 10 steps to a "truly" intermodal transportation system. Last month, intermodalists Theodore Prince and Thomas Finkbiner released a report that identifies the necessary steps to attract federal attention to and support for what they believe is the national freight system's "orphan" — intermodal. Entitled "Leveraging the Freight Net- work: 10 Steps to Improved Modal Connectivity," the 22-page report states the need to: 1. reinforce the importance of funding intermodal con-nector projects; 2. expand the definition of those connec- tors to include more facilities and roads; 3. support infrastructure projects outside terminals using federal pre-emption; 4. make freight a federal issue by using new perspectives on national and local political roles; 5. strengthen the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) by raising and indexing fuel taxes; 6. maintain the HTF "firewall" to ensure taxes collected aren't diverted to other uses; 7. emphasize environmental issues to ensure emphasis on the prudent use of fuel resources; 8. adapt the airport passenger facility charge model to intermodal as a funding source; 9. develop projects to encourage simultaneous growth of freight and passenger systems; 10. launch a short sea shipping pilot program with new incentives to develop its potential.
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