Cost of Rolling Stock Maintenance in Urban Railway Operation: Literature Review and Direction

Abstract

The rolling stock might function at an optimum level in reliability, availability, maintainability, and safety with comprehensive maintenance. The past decade has seen rapid development in the management of maintenance costs in many sectors such as the automotive and aviation industry. However, there is a lack in a number of studies focusing on rolling stock maintenance costs. This article provides comprehensive knowledge on the rolling stock maintenance cost. Recently, the research found no specific literature reviews that focus on typical rolling stock maintenance costs. This paper attempts to review, identify and discuss the influential costs involved in rolling stock maintenance. This research systematically reviews and classifies a substantial number of published papers and suggests a classification of specific cost categories according to rolling stock needs. The results revealed that 27 variables have contributed to the rolling stock maintenance costs. The highest among the influential costs are 13.8% spare part cost, 11% life cycle cost, 6.4% preventive maintenance cost, and 4.6% for the workforce, corrective maintenance, and cost of ownership, respectively. The interrelationship between influential costs and their effects on rolling stock costs is further discussed. More importantly, the paper is intended to provide a comprehensive view of influential costs affecting rolling stock maintenance and give useful references for personnel working in the industry as well as researchers. This research has highlighted the possibility of future major studies to minimize the identified maintenance cost and industry to optimize its operational cost.