APPROACH TO ESTIMATING MAGLEV GUIDEWAY MAINTENANCE COSTS

Renewed interest in magnetically levitated (maglev) transportation systems in the United States has led to close examination of the costs associated with developing such systems. Of particular concern has been the largest cost item, guideway capital costs. Unfortunately, maintenance costs, the other costs associated with the guideway, have not been as thoroughly examined. In fact, very little information concerning estimation of maglev guideway maintenance costs is available. Whereas there are no operational maglev systems in the United States, a large number of conventional transit systems in this country have guideway characteristics similar to those of maglev systems. These systems offer a wealth of information about guideway maintenance. The feasibility of using such data, specifically data from the Morgantown People Mover system, to assist in estimating and understanding maglev guideway maintenance costs, is examined. The most common maglev guideway maintenance cost estimation approach, the capital cost percentage (rule-of-thumb) approach, is examined and found to be reasonable. However, it may not be appropriate to assume that maintenance costs are constant over time, as the capital cost percentage approach suggests. In addition, the general subject of guideway maintenance is discussed. A list of actual Morgantown guideway maintenance actions and their applicability to maglev systems is provided.

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1994/1470/1470-004.pdf
• Record URL:
  https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=APPROACH+TO+ESTIMATING+MAGLEV+GUIDEWAY+MAINTENANCE+COSTS&author=J.+Hyre&author=R.+Eck&publication_year=1994
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• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1470, Railroad Research Issues. 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:
  • Hyre, J Bradford
  • Eck, Ronald W
• Publication Date: 1994

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 31-37
• Monograph Title: Railroad research issues
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1470
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Capital costs; Cost estimating; Guideways; Magnetic levitation; Maintenance; Maintenance management; Repairing
• Uncontrolled Terms: Maintenance costs; Repairs
• Old TRIS Terms: Guideway systems
• Subject Areas: Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Railroads; Terminals and Facilities;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00677724
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309061016
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: May 22 1995 12:00AM