Estimating the damage and marginal cost of different vehicle types on rail infrastructure: combining economic and engineering approaches

EU legislation requires that European infrastructure managers set access charges based on the marginal cost of running trains on their networks. Two methods have been used in the literature for this purpose. Top-down methods relate actual costs to traffic volumes. Bottom-up methods use engineering models to simulate damage and then translate damage into costs based on assumptions about interventions and their unit costs. Whilst top down methods produce sensible results for marginal cost overall, they have struggled to differentiate between traffic types. The challenge for bottom-up approaches is how to translate damage into cost, with numerous assumptions being required which may be invalid. This paper proposes a new, two stage approach to estimating the marginal cost of rail infrastructure usage. The first stage uses engineering models to simulate damage caused by vehicles on the network. The second stage seeks to establish a statistical relationship between actual costs and damage. It is thus possible to convert damage estimates into costs using actual cost data, rather than through a set of potentially invalid assumptions as in previous approaches. Only the first stage is implemented in this paper. We show that it possible to produce total (annualised) damage measures for three damage mechanisms on five actual track sections in Sweden. Once extended, it will be possible to model the relationship between damage and actual costs for the first time; and thus better understand the relative costs of the different damage mechanisms and in turn inform the level and structure of track access charges

Evaluating the mix of maintenance activities on railway crossings with respect to life-cycle costs

Switches & crossings (S&Cs) are vital assets as they allow for increased railway capacity by introducing flexibility and connectivity in railway networks. At the same time, this makes them critical since they can cause costly delays and disruptions if they are not well maintained. This motivates studies to improve maintenance strategies of S&Cs, considering both the life-cycle costs (LCC) of the assets and socio-economic transportation costs for passengers and freight customers. In this paper, the interdependence between deterioration mechanisms, maintenance activities, and expected LCC (including transportation costs) is investigated using a combination of mechanical and econometric modelling. The interrelation between the degradation of contact geometry and track settlement is analysed using simulations of dynamic vehicle–turnout interaction. Long-term mechanical degradation of the S&C is simulated for different maintenance strategies that correspond to different timing of the associated maintenance measures (crossing repair welding and tamping). This provides the basis for analysing the interdependence between preventive and corrective activities using econometric modelling. Based on a case study of a common type of S&Cs in the Swedish infrastructure, the impact of different maintenance strategies on LCC and transportation costs is analysed. Opportunities and challenges in the development of more socio-economically effective maintenance strategies of S&Cs are discussed

Assessing Innovations in High-Speed Rail Infrastructure

With a focus on infrastructure-related innovations for HSR, this paper aims at assessing their impacts in relation to the targets of punctuality, capacity, and life cycle costs. The paper presents a hybrid assessment methodology combing different approaches to assess effects on the named KPI. This contributes to reducing the existing gap that is found in the research literature

Needs of statistics on freight train reliability : a pre-study

Den officiella statistiken om bantrafikens tillförlitlighet i Sverige omfattar i dagsläget endast passagerartåg. Även godstågens tillförlitlighet bör vara en del av den statistiken, vilket leder till frågor om vilken information som bör ingå och hur den ska beskrivas. Denna förstudie tar fram ett kunskapsunderlag för den nödvändiga statistikutvecklingen, där utgångspunkten är användarnas nuvarande och potentiella behov av statistik om godstågens tillförlitlighet. Tillförlitlighet är i detta sammanhang ett transportsystems förmåga att följa fastställd tidtabell, utifrån vilken användare har organiserat sina aktiviteter. En störning i trafiken, såsom en försening eller ett inställt tåg, skapar variationer i tillförlitlighet, en händelse som bör karaktäriseras på fler sätt än dess frekvens för att möta olika användares behov av statistik. För att ta fram nödvändig statistik behöver följande frågor besvaras. Vilka objekt och variabler bör ingå? Vilka redovisningsgrupper bör ingå? Vilka statistiska mått bör redovisas? Förstudien visar att de relevanta objekten är fordon och störningar. De variabler som är nödvändiga är planerade, framförda, anordnade och inställda fordon, tillsammans med information om avvikelser från tidtabell när ett fordon har framförts. Här finns skillnader mellan passagerartåg och godståg, då det är relativt vanligt att den senare gruppen har avgångs- eller ankomsttider innan utsatt tid enligt tidtabell, något som det också finns ett behov av att redovisa med statistik.At present, the official statistics on rail traffic in Sweden only comprise passenger trains. The reliability of freight trains should also be included in the statistics. This leads to questions on which information should be included and how it should be described. This pre-study is a knowledge base of the necessary development of the official statistics in Sweden, and is centered on the users’ current and potential needs of statistics on freight train reliability. In this context, reliability is the ability of a transport system to follow the timetable, upon which users have organized their activities. A traffic disturbance, such as delays or cancelled trains, creates unreliability in the transport system, which should be characterized in more ways than the frequency of the disturbances in order to meet different users’ needs of statistics. To produce the necessary statistics, one must answer the following questions. Which units and variables should be included? Which domains should be included? Which statistical measures should be presented? This study shows that the relevant units are vehicles and traffic disturbances. The necessary variables are scheduled, arrived and cancelled vehicles, as well as vehicles that are adjustments/late changes of the timetable. Variables on timetable deviations for vehicles running on the network are also necessary. In this aspect, there are differences between passenger and freight trains as the latter group relatively often depart or arrive ahead of schedule, which is also important to capture with statistics

The impact of axle loads on rail infrastructure maintenance costs

In this paper we estimate the impact of axle loads on rail infrastructure maintenance costs in Sweden. The results are contrasted to the cost impact of ton density, a common measure in the literature on rail infrastructure costs. We find non-linear cost elasticities with respect to a ton per axle density measure, with an estimate at the sample median that is larger than the corresponding estimate for ton density. The results are relevant for the setting of track access charges in Europe, considering that the econometric results in this paper give support to the engineering perspective - that is, axle loads are important to consider when estimating the damage caused by traffic.Marginalkostnad för järnvägstrafik - fordonstypsdifferentierin

The impact of cumulative tonnes on track failures : an empirical approach

Cost-benefit analysis is often used in appraisal of rail infrastructure investments. A corresponding decision support is, however, not available for rail infrastructure maintenance and renewal. To for example decide whether to renew or continue to maintain an infrastructure asset, a relationship between cumulative traffic and infrastructure failures is required. This relationship is established in this paper, using an empirical (top-down) approach on Swedish data for years 2003 to 2016. It is shown that the average elasticity for track failures with respect to cumulative tonnes is 0.32, and that the elasticity varies for different levels of traffic and for different infrastructure characteristics. The results in this paper can for example be used to calculate the impact cumulative tonnes have on train delay costs, which together with a relationship between cumulative traffic and infrastructure maintenance costs are essential in an economic optimization of maintenance and renewal activities

Is there a need for increased regulations on lobbying? : An economic analysis of lobbying in the EU

As EU’s authority increased the number of lobbies in Brussels grew. Today there are approximately 15 000 lobbyists in Brussels. EU decisions and EU directives can have a huge impact on companies and organizations. They can however influence these decisions and directives through lobbying. The EU institutions also have an interest in cooperating with lobbies. Organizations and companies are regarded as important providers of knowledge and information. Lobbying has its advocates and critics, and is often debated. Which democratic and economic effects can lobbying imply? According to different perspectives lobbying can have either negative or positive effects on democracy. Advocates think that lobbying imply more opportunities to influence policies and that good policies are created in a society open to all kinds of new ideas.  Critics claim that lobbying creates non-democratic decisions and non-democratic decision-making processes. This is due to the fact that lobbying performance is more dependent on resources rather than the number of votes, there is a lack of transparency and that lobbies pursuit a special interest.  According to critics lobbies often obtain a political influence at the expense of the general interest. Economic theory states that lobbying can cause an inefficient allocation of resources and imply a waste of resources.   Lobbying is regarded as rent-seeking - an attempt to capture existing wealth instead of creating new wealth.  The competition for political influence is regarded as the main cause of inefficient allocation of resources. Becker, however, has a different view and states that the competition for political influence will result in an implementation of efficient policies. Governments will favor the politically powerful lobbies, and these lobbies are politically powerful because they lobby for efficient policies. The lobbies’ investments in producing pressure will however be wasteful. One pressure group’s increased expenditure on political pressure will force other pressure groups to increase their expenditure on political pressure and both groups will thus maintain their influence, the same influence they had before the increased expenditures. The lobbies are in a social dilemma – an additional investment is rational for the individual lobby but disadvantageous for the whole group of lobbies. Which socio-economic effects will this imply for the EU? Is there a need for increased regulations on lobbying?  In order to give an answer I have used second-hand data on lobbying in the EU – how lobbying has grown and how it works today – together with second-hand data on the decision-making process for an EU legislation and an EU programme. The analysis of the economic and democratic effects, that lobbying in the EU implies, shows that there is a need for increased regulations on lobbying in the EU.

The impact of axle loads on rail infrastructure maintenance costs

In this paper we estimate the impact of axle loads on rail infrastructure maintenance costs in Sweden. The results are contrasted to the cost impact of ton density, a common measure in the literature on rail infrastructure costs. We find non-linear cost elasticities with respect to a ton per axle density measure, with an estimate at the sample median that is larger than the corresponding estimate for ton density. The results are relevant for the setting of track access charges in Europe, considering that the econometric results in this paper give support to the engineering perspective - that is, axle loads are important to consider when estimating the damage caused by traffic.Marginalkostnad för järnvägstrafik - fordonstypsdifferentierin

Marginalkostnader för järnvägsunderhåll : trafikens påverkan på olika anläggningar

En del av banavgiften för nyttjandet av infrastrukturen består av kostnader för järnvägsunderhåll som uppstår som en direkt följd av tågtrafiken. Då nedbrytning och slitage av vissa järnvägsanläggningar och komponenter inte påverkas av trafik, kan det göras gällande att underhållskostnader för dessa inte bör ingå i en marginalkostnadsbaserad avgift. I denna studie skattar vi kostnadselasticiteter med en ekonometrisk metod för att undersöka om och hur trafik påverkar underhållskostnader för olika grupper av järnvägsanläggningar. Resultaten visar att det finns statistiskt signifikanta samband mellan trafik och underhållskostnader för anläggningsgrupperna Bana, El, Signal och Tele. En förklaring till sambanden för exempelvis signal- och teleanläggningar är att mer förebyggande underhåll genomförs för att upprätthålla en viss tillförlitlighet hos anläggningen när trafiken ökar och därmed undvika en ökad kostnad för inställda och försenade tåg – en kostnad som kan öka oavsett om mer trafik orsakar en ökad nedbrytning eller inte

The impact of cumulative tonnes on track failures : an empirical approach

Cost-benefit analysis is often used in appraisal of rail infrastructure investments. A corresponding decision support is, however, not available for rail infrastructure maintenance and renewal. To for example decide whether to renew or continue to maintain an infrastructure asset, a relationship between cumulative traffic and infrastructure failures is required. This relationship is established in this paper, using an empirical (top-down) approach on Swedish data for years 2003 to 2016. It is shown that the average elasticity for track failures with respect to cumulative tonnes is 0.32, and that the elasticity varies for different levels of traffic and for different infrastructure characteristics. The results in this paper can for example be used to calculate the impact cumulative tonnes have on train delay costs, which together with a relationship between cumulative traffic and infrastructure maintenance costs are essential in an economic optimization of maintenance and renewal activities.Effektsamband mellan ackumulerat tonnage och felfrekvens på rä