The Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Cost Database Analysis Study
The Capital Costs database created and regularly updated by the FTA, documents the as-built costs for 54 federally funded projects in the following modes: bus rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, heavy rail and trolley. It is openly accessible at https://www.transit.dot.gov/capital-cost-database.
The database is intended for performing historical cost analysis and developing order-of-magnitude cost estimates for conceptual transit projects. Project costs are tracked in FTA’s Standard Cost Categories and the project costs have been validated.The purpose of the Capital Cost Database is not to prepare a detailed cost estimate. Instead, the database should be used for preparing conceptual, ballpark estimates for conceptual projects or for better understanding the unique characteristics of a cost estimate by comparing the costs to historical experiences. The Capital Cost Database is updated on a recurring basis.
The purpose of this study is to analyze the data to reveal trends, derive insight and lessons for the transit industry, while providing recommendations to improve the data collected in the database.
Trends
Table 1 summarizes the descriptive and cost data for the 54 projects in the database. All the cost data in the table and the charts in this analysis have been normalized for inflation based on 2021 dollars. All length values are in in miles. External access to the file.
- There are 18 heavy rail, 27 light rail, 3 commuter rail, 5 bus rapid transit and 1 street trolley lines in the database.
- The oldest line in the database is Chicago’s O’Hare Blue Line extension, with a mid point of construction in 1981 and the most recent one is Sacramento’s South Corridor Light Rail Extension that opened to service in 2015.
- The total length of the lines is 546 miles.
Table 1
In out analysis that follows, we exclude 5 projects:
- Chicago Ravenswood Brown Line (highest-cost/mile in the database): this was a rehabilitation project for the entire Brown Line, but the denominator in the database is just 0.3 miles, representing a minor expansion that was itself a minor component in the project cost
- Minneapolis North Star Line (second highest-cost/mile): this is a 40 mile commuter line, with its cost spread across the line, but the denominator in the database is 0.4 miles, representing a short extension that like Ravenswood’s 0.3 miles is not where most money was spent
- Philadelphia Market-Frankford Line rehabilitation: this is the renewal of an already existing elevated line, which could be in its own category for cost comparison but should not be compared with the construction of new lines
- Chicago Blue Line Douglas Branch: this, like the MFL project, is a rehabilitation project, including ADA accessibility at all stations
- South Boston Piers BRT: this is a short tunnel, which accurately reflects the cost of complex urban road tunneling and can go in this database but should not be bundled with at-grade BRT projects
Costs per Mile
The scatter plot charts show the Cost per Mile data of all the projects in the database. The first charts shows tunnel percentage of lines by color, and the second shows the project states. The sizes of the circles indicate mode.
The project with the highest cost per mile, at $967 million, is Los Angeles’s 3.35 mile-long Red Line Segment 1 (heavy rail), with a total cost of $3,243 million. It consists of 5 stations and 73% of the line is tunneled. The midyear of construction is 1988.
The project with the lowest costs per mile, at $10 million, is Portland’s Willsonville to Beaverton Commuter Line. 15 miles in length and with 5 stations, 97% of the line is at grade. The midyear of construction is 2007.
Tunneled vs. Elevated
In the two charts below, we see the tunneled and elevated percentage of the length for each project. The three projects that are 1 mile or under are excluded (see above).
The projects with more tunnels are on the higher cost/mile range of the spectrum while mostly elevated lines are more evenly distributed. Sacramento’s South Corridor Light Rail Extension has below median costs/mile, while 100% of the line is elevated.
Geographical Distribution of Investment
The projects in the database are located in 22 US states. California is the state with the most miles of projects funded (126.5 miles) and highest amount of dollars ($17.6 B) invested.
Project Cost Breakdowns for Each Transit Project Mode
Hover over bars for more information.
Cost Categories for Each Mode
Soft costs ranges for projects are shown for Soft Costs/Hard Costs percentage. Vehicle cost ranges are per vehicle and Station cost ranges are per station. Rest of the ranges pertain to per mile costs.
Heavy Rail
Light Rail
Commuter Rail
Bus Rapid Transit
Cost Categories for Each Mode
Heavy Rail
Soft Costs
Vehicles
Right of Way
Systems
Site Work
Facilities
Stations
Guideway
Light Rail
Soft Costs
Vehicles
Right of Way
Systems
Site Work
Facilities
Stations
Guideway
Geographical Focus
California projects with midyears of construction:
Sacramento – Stage I – 1985
Los Angeles – Long Beach Blue Line – 1987
Santa Clara VTA – North Corridor – 1987
Los Angeles – Red Line Segment 1 – 1988
Los Angeles – Red Line Segment 2A and 2B – 1994
Los Angeles – Red Line Segment 3 – 1998
Santa Clara VTA – Tasman West – 1999
Sacramento – South Corridor – 2002
Sacramento – Folsom Corridor – 2002
San Diego – Mission Valley East – 2003
San Francisco BART – SFO Extension – 2003
Los Angeles – East Side Extension – 2009
South Corridor Light Rail Extension Phase 2 – 2013
Los Angeles projects with midyears of construction:
Long Beach Blue Line – 1987
Red Line Segment 1 – 1988
Red Line Segment 2A and 2B – 1994
Red Line Segment 3′ – 1998
East Side Extension – 2009
Chicago Projects with midyears of construction:
Chicago CTA – Blue Line Douglas – 1981
Chicago CTA – Southwest Orange Line -1990
Chicago CTA – O’Hare Blue Line Extension – 2002
Brown Line Ravenswood was excluded but Blue Line Douglas was included in this chart.
Pennsylvania Projects with midyears of construction
Pittsburgh – Light Rail Stage I – 1984
Philadelphia SEPTA – Frankford Rehabilitation – 1998
Pittsburgh – Light Rail Stage II – 2003
Pittsburgh – Airport Busway – 2008
Pittsburgh – North Shore LRT Connector – 2011
Portland Projects with midyears of construction:
MAX Segment I – 1984
Westside/Hillsboro MAX – 1996
Interstate MAX -2002
South Corridor/Portland Mall – 2006
Wilsonville to Beaverton – 2007
UTAH Projects with midyears of construction:
North South Corridor – 1998
Weber Co. Commuter Rail – 2008
Mid Jordan LRT – 2011
Draper Light Rail Line – 2012
Washington DC Projects and midyears of construction:
Glenmont Outer (B) -1996
Greenbelt Mid (E) -1996 (here we show the midyear as 1997 for legibility, as this project was completed a year later than Glenmont Outer (B) )
Anacostia Outer (F) – 1998