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On timetable assumptions in railway investment appraisal

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  • Eliasson, Jonas
  • Börjesson, Maria

Abstract

The benefits captured in an appraisal of a railway investment are determined by what timetables the analyst assumes in the scenarios with and without the investment. Without an explicit, objective and verifiable principle for which timetables to assume, the appraisal outcome is virtually arbitrary. This means that appraisals of railway investments cannot be compared to each other, and opens the door for strategic behaviour by stakeholders conducting seemingly objective cost-benefit analysis. We explain and illustrate the nature and extent of the problem, discuss possible timetable construction principles, and show that current practice is likely to exaggerate appraisal benefits.

Suggested Citation

  • Eliasson, Jonas & Börjesson, Maria, 2014. "On timetable assumptions in railway investment appraisal," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 118-126.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:trapol:v:36:y:2014:i:c:p:118-126
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2014.08.008
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Börjesson, Maria, 2014. "Forecasting demand for high speed rail," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 81-92.
    2. Ait Ali, Abderrahman & Warg, Jennifer & Eliasson, Jonas, 2020. "Pricing commercial train path requests based on societal costs," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 452-464.
    3. Beria, Paolo & Grimaldi, Raffaele, 2013. "Appraising the benefits of bottleneck removal in rail transport: a simplified CBA approach," MPRA Paper 46889, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Ait Ali, Abderrahman & Eliasson, Jonas & Warg, Jennifer, 2022. "Are commuter train timetables consistent with passengers’ valuations of waiting times and in-vehicle crowding?," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 188-198.
    5. Broman, Emanuel & Eliasson, Jonas, 2019. "Welfare effects of open access competition on railway markets," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 72-91.
    6. Börjesson, Maria & Rushid, Ajsuna R. & Liu, Chengxi, 2021. "The impact of optimal rail access charges on frequencies and fares," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 26.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cost-benefit analysis; Appraisal; Railway investments; Timetables;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R40 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - General

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