As part of its efforts to measure and monitor MTS performance, DOT should aim to develop a more thorough understanding of the operations, capacity, and use of the system, and of the freight system in general. Such an understanding will help identify ways to better integrate security, environmental protection, and safety features and capabilities into the system as it facilitates the nation’s commerce. Examining the implications of federal investments and activities across modes will also be important in ensuring that these investments are compatible with one another and with these national interests. Such outcomes can no longer be treated as mutually exclusive or conflicting goals of national policy, but rather as interdependent and essential to one another.