Abstract

In the decision-making, such as selection of structure, construction method, or time and scheme of maintenance, the evaluation of life-cycle cost(LCC) is of great importance. The maintenance cost occupy a large portion of the LCC of the railway track as well as the initial construction cost. Futhermore, the proportion of the maintenance cost is much higher in the ballasted track. Thus, the importance of the LCC evaluation is higher than in any other engineering structures. In this study, a LCC model that can consider various design parameters such as the type of track structure, annual traffic volume, axle load, train speed, and proportion of curve sections and engineering structures has been developed. Fundamental data for calculating costs also have been presented. Based on the model and data proposed, the trends in the variation of LCC according to the design parameters were examined and the most important design parameters in the LCC analysis of railway track were investigated. The results show that the proportion of renewal and operational costs is much higher in the ballasted track than in the concrete track, and the annual traffic volume and ballast taming period are most significant factors on the LCC of the ballasted track. On the contrary, it is revealed that the proportion of the initial construction costs in the concrete track is much higher, and the LCC of the concrete track is less sensitive to the traffic volume, train speed, and axle load.

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