Closed Form Models to Assess Railroad Technology Investments
Abstract
Class I railroads in North America collectively invested $11.2 billion to comply with a federal mandate to deploy positive train control. This amount dwarfs the potential savings from accidents the technology could prevent. Therefore, railroads must seek additional benefits. This research contributes simple closed-form models to inform strategies that can leverage the technology deployment by estimating the annual additional net benefits, internal rate of return, and benefit-cost ratio needed for a desired payback period.