Infrastructure cost

What this is

Everything paid to the companies that own and run the railway itself: track access, traction electricity, station stops and overnight parking.

This is the part of a night train's cost that is most directly affected by policy. Each country sets its own charging regime which differ widely in level and in structure. Some charge per kilometre, some per tonne, some take a share of ticket revenue. A cross-border night train pays each of them in turn, which is why this figure is so sensitive to the route.

Everything paid to infrastructure companies: track, power, stations and parking.

The formula

$$C_{infrastructure} = C_{TAC} + C_{energy} + C_{station} + C_{park}$$

	Symbol	Meaning	Unit	Where it comes from
Input	C_TAC	Track access charges	€/year	tac_eur
Input	C_energy	Traction electricity cost	€/year	energy_eur
Input	C_station	Station charges	€/year	station_charge_eur
Input	C_park	Overnight parking cost	€/year	parking_eur
Result	C_infrastructure	Total infrastructure cost	€/year	—

Feeds into: total_cost_eur

Found a mistake?

This documentation describes a model that is still being built, and some of it will be wrong. If a number looks off, a source is missing, or an explanation does not hold up, tell us — it reaches the working group with the page you were reading.