Application of the method for assessing the real efficiency of transport infrastructure for economic comparison of railway track designs

A method related to improving the tools for evaluating the effectiveness of transport infrastructure, which makes it possible to adequately assess the economic effectiveness of various technical solutions, considering their life cycle and operating conditions, has been developed and tested. The research methodology is based on an economic analysis that includes a life cycle cost calculation. The indicators of capital expenditures, current expenses, risks, and service life of structures were used to compare the variants of technical solutions. The study results show that the proposed assessment method can be used in addition to or instead of the traditional approach and also allows for a comparison of technical solutions. It can be applied when designing new and reconstructing existing transport infrastructure facilities, in particular railway lines, and selecting optimal solutions for various operating conditions. The method is also applicable for evaluating innovative infrastructure solutions. The study prospects are related to the proposed approach integration into the general methodology for analyzing economically significant trends in transport (including railway) infrastructure development, as well as to complement the proposed method with sensitivity analysis of key parameters of the source data. The study highlights the importance of an integrated approach to assessing the effectiveness of transport infrastructure, considering both the economic and technical and operational parameters of infrastructure solutions.