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 The Urban Track project aims at developing innovative products with a '2020 ERRAC vision': low life cycle cost, high performant, modular, safe, low noise and vibration rail infrastructure systems which fit into a harmonised European market. The URBAN TRACK project aims at a reduction of the LCC of the urban track infrastructure by at least 25%.
Considering that urban railway operation is characterised by the need for large initial investments and large annual budgets for maintenance/renewal activity, the systematic and controlled development of LCC strategies on a European level and their comprehensive implementation become a crucial issue for the economic sustainability of the urban railway business.
The Sub Project "Economic Assessment (SP 4)" will result in such a controlled methodology to assess the life cycle cost benefits of innovative technological solutions and facilitate joint development between network operators/infrastructure managers and the supply industry. The "deliverables" (evaluations) will enable network operators/infrastructure managers and political decision makers to assess the effectiveness of leading edge hardware technology in terms of track availability, safety, environment and maintenance benefits. The objectives of SP 4 are to obtain:
- a generally acceptable LCC calculation method and software tool with definition of all parameters involved for evaluating complete projects as well as for the evaluation of the introduction of innovative solutions into the network;
- validation by use of the above LCC calculation method for the solutions at the validation test sites considered in SP 3;
- support the studies defined in the other SPs with relevant LCC information;
- project target verification (25% reduction of LCC) of the proposed solutions;
- a cost/benefit analysis methodology for rail infrastructure works including socio-economic aspects.
To learn more about the overall Urban Track project, you can also visit the global Urban Track website. The building blocks will be integrated into a family of solutions in function of the track type (metro, tram shared, tram segregated) & in function of the
network's specific needs. Validation will be carried out in ten networks (each validating another type of infrastructure or solution). The evaluation
will be based on criteria such as availability & cost.
By validating the developed solutions also in Asia and South America, dissemination in emerging markets is ensured, creating worldwide
opportunities for the European urban railway industry. The project is driven by the network operators. There are network
operators (eight), research institutes, engineering companies & industry from ten different countries. Partner UNIFE & UITP will disseminate
towards their members. |
