METHODOLOGY FOR PROJECTING RAIL TRANSIT REHABILITATION AND REPLACEMENT CAPITAL FINANCING NEEDS

A state-of-the-art analysis for projecting capital rehabilitation and replacement (R&R) costs for rail transit is presented in this paper. This analysis was conducted for the recent Federal City Council study of regional financing for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Metrorail system. The methodology included identifying distinct classes of capital assets and projecting, for each class of assets, what fraction of the replacement value of the asset would have to be rehabilitated or replaced and at what interval. The asset-value data were based on fixed-asset data maintained by WMATA (for existing assets) and engineered cost estimates. Knowledgeable WMATA staff determined the R&R percentages and intervals. Detailed, component-by-component analyses were performed for rail cars, power, communications, automatic train control, and automatic fare collection equipment. Detailed track replacement analyses took into consideration factors such as degree of curvature, type of fixation, and traffic levels. Projected annual Metrorail R&R costs ranged from $20 million in the late 1980s to more than $120 million in the late 1990s. These projections have become the basis for policy initiatives by WMATA to establish dedicated funding for future R&R costs.

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1988/1165/1165-004.pdf
• Record URL:
  • https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=METHODOLOGY+FOR+PROJECTING+RAIL+TRANSIT+REHABILITATION+AND+REPLACEMENT+CAPITAL+FINANCING+NEEDS&author=R.+Peskin&publication_year=1988
• Availability:
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• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1165, Transit Management and Replacement Capital Planning. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Authors:
  • Peskin, Robert L
• Publication Date: 1988

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 19-30
• Monograph Title: Transit management and replacement capital planning
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1165
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Assets; Capital costs; Driver rehabilitation; Equipment replacement; Rapid transit
• Identifier Terms: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
• Uncontrolled Terms: Rehabilitation; Replacement
• Old TRIS Terms: Projection
• Subject Areas: Finance; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Public Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00479323
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309047064
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Jan 31 1989 12:00AM