Rail System Investment Analysis: Sample Evaluation of a Track Rehabilitation Project from the National Economic Perspective

摘要

This report is a hypothetical case study of a railroad track rehabilitation from the perspective of the national economy. The case is divided into six parts. Part I is an executive summary. Part II presents a description of the project--the rehabilitation of 110 miles of mainline track on the XLR Railroad. The third part is a detailed description of the base case, the most favorable alternative action the XLR railroad could take without government financial assistance. Part IV presents the traffic forecasts for both the base and project cases. Part V identifies the project's major benefits and shows how the corresponding cash flows were calculated. A discussion of the principal areas of uncertainty is also included. Part VI presents an internal rate of return.