Contents I. Introduction
Life cycle costing is defined as a process of summation of costs estimated from initial purchase stage to disposal stage for a product or system. Railway operators around the world are increasingly applying life cycle costing to assist in the choice between tenders for the supply of rolling stock and fixed installation equipment. However, research to date has focused on purchase cost as the primary criteria for urban rail transit vehicle purchase. It often results in bad financial decision, because the cost through whole life cycle is generally much bigger than the purchase cost. A comprehensive analysis of vehicle life cycle costing is critically necessary.
