SVM MIS/DEIS - 3.4 Capital Costs

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Major Investment Study / Draft Environmental Impact Statement
3. Conceptual Engineering, Operations Analysis, and Costs

3.4 CAPITAL COSTS

The capital cost of the project plays an integral role in the selection of the Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) and is equally important in the evaluation of the project by the Federal Transit Administration as part of a New Starts Funding Request. A capital cost estimation was performed for six short-listed build alternatives, as well as a Transportation Systems Management (TSM) Alternative. All costs presented are therefore incremental to the No-Build Alternative. Costs for existing and planned projects outside of the Schuylkill Valley Metro are not enumerated.

3.4.1 CAPITAL COST METHODOLOGY AND ASSUMPTIONS

A detailed description of the capital cost estimation process, the cost components identified and the assumptions made can be found in Technical Report 2.6 - Capital Cost Estimation Methodology.

The following basic assumptions were used in the capital cost estimation procedure. They are consistent with FTA requirements and other MIS/DEIS studies.

All costs are in (1999) dollars.
A 7% discount rate was applied in determining annualized capital costs.
Soft cost add-ons are applied for engineering, project management, and construction management. These vary by category as outlined in Table 3.4-1.
A contingency value of 20 percent has been applied to the total cost for each alternative.

The estimate was broken down into cost components falling into three fundamental groups: typical facilities, special facilities, and systems facilities.

Typical facilities include mostly linear or countable units that have the same, or very similar costs throughout. They are organized into the following categories: roadway, guideway, trackwork, stations, traction power, train control, communications, fare collection, right-of-way acquisition, and utility modification.

Special facilities are site-specific units that require special analysis due to unique circumstances. These may include environmental cleanup and mitigation, special structures or connections, and other items unique to a certain location. They will most often be listed as lump sum items in the capital cost estimation.

Systems facilities are items essential to the transportation system's operation but cannot be allocated to a specific portion of the system. They include vehicles as well as maintenance and storage facilities. This category should not be confused with electrical or signal systems covered under Typical Facilities. Costs of maintenance and storage facilities vary significantly depending on the mode. For the commuter rail alternatives, this cost is primarily for the expansion of existing facilities with limited new construction. For the light rail alternatives, new facilities would be constructed.

A unit cost table of the various cost components can be found in Appendix E of Technical Report 2.7 - Capital Cost Estimation Results.

3.4.2 CAPITAL COST RESULTS

The capital cost results are summarized in Table 3.4-2 below. The total cost for the build alternatives ranges from $1,131 million for Alternative 2D to $1,513 million for Alternative 5ET. The capital cost of the TSM Alternative is estimated to be $135 million, which includes two rail extensions, express bus parking facilities and the express bus fleet.

For the six build alternatives, the largest capital cost categories are vehicles and shops, guideway, and right-of-way. (It should be noted that right-of-way costs include allowances for agreements with NS, CSX, and Amtrak, as well as for other right-of-way related costs not directly attributed to the purchase of property.) These three categories combine for between sixty and seventy percent of total alternative costs. Other major cost items are trackwork, train control, stations, and traction power (for electric alternatives). Combined, these account for an additional 25 to 30 percent of the total cost. The remainder is split among roadway, communications, utilities, fare collection, and special construction. Detailed description and tabulation of costs by cost category and segment for each alternative can be found in Technical Report 2.7 - Capital Cost Estimation Results.