Determinants of Rolling Stock Maintenance Cost in Metros

This study examines the economies of scale and the determinants of rolling stock maintenance costs for 24 urban rail transit operators. The estimates reveal significant returns to scale in maintenance for both per car and per car km. The econometric analysis also provides statistically significant cost elasticities for wages and staff hours suggesting substitution effects between factors. Staff outsourcing is found to significantly decrease costs, whereas higher levels of fleet availability at the peak and rolling stock failures increase it. The effect of the age of rolling stock and the network is negligible on rolling stock maintenance costs although the analysis reveals a downward trend in rolling stock costs among the CoMET-Nova metros.

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• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AR020 Passenger Rail Equipment and Systems Integration.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Brage-Ardao, Ruben
  • Graham, Daniel J
  • Anderson, Richard J
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 94th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2015-1-11 to 2015-1-15
• Date: 2015

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: 18p
• Monograph Title: TRB 94th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Costs; Econometrics; Economies of scale; Maintenance; Rail transit; Rolling stock; Urban transit
• Subject Areas: Finance; Maintenance and Preservation; Public Transportation; Railroads; I10: Economics and Administration; I60: Maintenance;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01557386
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 15-4269
• Files: PRP, TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Mar 20 2015 3:21PM