Rolling Stock Costs Database

This is the first version of our rolling stock costs database, to complement our primary urban rail construction costs database, excluding rolling stock. The new database looks at the procurement costs of metro trains, commuter rail electric multiple units (EMUs), and some light rail stock. The patterns we observe are different from those of the infrastructure cost database.

The primary cost metric we have chosen to use is the purchase cost per meter of train length. This is motivated by seeing that the figures, so normalized, vary relatively little—less than the cost per kilometer of urban rail infrastructure construction. Moreover, across the types of train sets we have investigated, there is no apparent pattern in other kinds of capacity calculation: in particular, wider commuter trains do not cost more per meter of length than narrower metro or light rail vehicles, and if anything they tend to cost less. We do, however, include capacity numbers measured in seats where these are available, for eventual comparison of single- and double-deck mainline trains.

The data largely studies three separate supply chains: the Chinese supply chain, comprising largely metros but also a handful of medium-speed commuter trains with a top speed of 160-200 km/h; the European one, comprising streetcars or light rail vehicles, metros, and commuter trains; and the North American one, comprising light rail vehicles, metros, and some commuter rail EMUs. Purchases within each of these are largely disjoint, and it is best to compare them in two steps: within each supply chain, it’s fruitful to make comparisons between cities, types of vehicles, or even individual orders; then the three supply chains can be compared as aggregated averages.

Each item in the database specifies, in addition to the basic technical data, the vendor. We have not found a pattern in which some vendors within a supply chain are cheaper than others, but a fuller investigation may prove otherwise.

Preliminary Results

Unlike the infrastructure costs database, the rolling stock database shows much narrower differences in the costs of single-deck EMUs. The Chinese metros average $92,141 per linear meter in 2023 PPP dollars. In Continental Europe, the corresponding figure is $150,641, though as we explain below, we believe incompleteness in the database biases the figure upward somewhat by including more higher- than lower-cost items; the approximate range is $100,000-200,000, and we expect a fuller database to get to a figure of about $130,000/m. The American costs, dominated by New York’s orders, average $152,602/m.

Database Scope

We expect to eventually include a more comprehensive database of rolling stock orders. For now, we have the following gaps:

  • There is very little Japanese and Korean data, in contrast with the extensive Chinese, North American, and European data. The Japanese supply chain is distinct from the Chinese, North American, and European one, and a full account will likely show different patterns there. There is also no Indian or Russian data.
  • All of the current items are EMUs, all top out at 160-200 km/h or less, and practically all are single-deck. The partial data we have beyond these restrictions finds premiums for high-speed trains and for non-electric trains (diesel, battery, and especially hydrogen), as well as premiums for double-deck trains relative to length (but perhaps not capacity).
  • Not all European cities are properly covered. This matters, because there appears to be an effect in which the largest and oldest European systems—especially Paris and Berlin—have higher metro rolling stock costs than others, with what appears to be less standardization. These cities form a larger share of the database than they do the European rolling stock market.