The Analysis of Railroad Operating Costs in Korean Railroad Projects

Purpose: A railroad project is a complex system with large construction costs in the initial stage and ongoing operating costs over its lifecycle. Current railroad projects tend to be based on construction options, which leads to huge deficiencies in operating costs. This phenomenon results from a lack of appropriate tools to accurately estimate a railroad project's lifecycle costs. This study attempts to analyze the major components of railroad operating costs and to propose a decision-making system for analyzing the long-term lifecycle costs of railroad projects. Research design, data and methodology: We review the literature and analyze the current status of railroad operating costs in Korea and overseas. Based on previous projects, a framework for project options and operating costs is proposed. The framework is applied to actual railroad projects to demonstrate the validity of the model. Results: Case analysis shows that our framework is comprehensive in analyzing the primary aspects of railroad operating costs and plays an effective role in choosing various railroad project options. This study points out that the railway project operates inefficiently because estimating long-term costs without reflecting specific project options causes many errors. Conclusions: A major contribution of this study is the development of an improved framework for accurately estimating operating costs and providing policymakers and engineering firms with a holistic decision support system. Detailed components in estimating operating costs of the railroad business are discussed. And we present a decision-making tool that policymakers and private businesses can use in planning the railroad business.