Development of an Access Charge Framework for High-Speed Rail Incorporating Rail Replacement Costs

Abstract

Shared high-speed rail corridors present a growing challenge for cost allocation as multiple operators use the same infrastructure under open-access or cooperative arrangements. Traditional access charge systems often rely on generalized usage metrics, such as train-kilometers or gross tonnage, which do not explicitly account for the effects of train speed and track geometry on infrastructure wear. As a result, these simplified approaches overlook the true contribution of dynamic forces to rail degradation, leading to potential under- or over-recovery of costs among operators. This motivates the need for a technically grounded framework that links measurable train and track parameters to rail replacement costs for equitable cost sharing. The proposed framework builds on the static rail replacement threshold traditionally used by infrastructure managers and extends it to incorporate the effects of train speed, axle load, and track geometry. It first determines the cumulative tonnage threshold for rail replacement by combining static, dynamic, and lateral loads acting on the rail. This threshold is then used as the basis for estimating the service life of the rail under shared operations, where different train types operate over the same segment. The total rail replacement cost is distributed among the operators according to their proportionate contribution to the cumulative loading during the rail’s service life, resulting in an equitable, load-based access charge for each service. A case study of the Palmdale-Burbank segment of the California High-Speed Rail corridor, currently under construction and expected to be shared with the privately operated Brightline West, demonstrates the application of the proposed framework. The case study used publicly available and assumed operating data of the two train systems. The analysis shows that the heavier, faster train (CAHSR) contributes a greater share of total rail wear and therefore incurs a higher per-trip access charge than the lighter, slower Brightline West train service. The analysis also revealed that neglecting the effects of dynamic and lateral loads would overestimate the rail service life by nearly a factor of two, underscoring the importance of accounting for these forces in both maintenance forecasting and cost allocation. These findings confirm that incorporating speed, axle load, and geometry effects provide a more accurate and equitable basis for allocating maintenance and renewal costs in shared high-speed rail operations.