Performance charts

Performance of Waverail and conventional light rail graphed against capacity

Notes:

pspace/h is the system's passenger carrying capacity at point X. Example: if a tram, allowed to transport 100 passengers, passes X with 60 passengers on board, its contribution to 'pspace/h is 100.
'conventional' means 'conventional rail'.
Conventional rail on the studied circuits would be called tram or light rail.
While comparing Waverail with conventional is be encouraged, it is helpful to remember that Waverail is best in the high/medium capacities (hitherto reserved to heavy rail). There direct comparison is often not realistic or not possible at all.
In order to enforce the maximum possible rage of comparison, in many graphs conventional has been allowed to increase frequency (smooth part of curve); in fact up to its theoretical maximum when consists obstruct each other. In reality, frequency increases are often not allowed and thus direct comparison is somewhat unrealistic/unfair. Waverail achieves these capacities mostly without the need to increase frequency.
The many kinks in the curves emanate from the fact that, when adding cars to consists while maintaining frequency, capacity increases stepwise. The typical curve shape is: steps (adding cars), then continuous (increasing frequency, in reality often not allowed), then horizontal when max capacity is reached.

Performance measure:
Capacity achievable

Y values represent system capacity. The horizontal axis simply denotes a 'desired capacity'.

standard 38.4km circuit

other circuits

Performance measure:
Personnel needed

Standard case (no increase in frequency allowed)

Increasing number of stations (same circuit length)

These three graphs show that increasing the number of stations increases Waverail's personnel use relatively little

Performance measure:
Boarding time, Fleet size, Train frequencies

Costs

Note: 'Costs' are cash costs; 'Costs + D&A' are full costs. D&A being Depreciation & Amortisation.

Revenue & Profits

Note that all calculations are based on assumed fill figures (fill being the the % of take up by paying passengers). Thus higher capacity systems depend on higher passenger numbers to achieve the calculated results.

standard circuit

Note how revenue is higher for Waverail than for conventional. This reflects the assumption that Waverail passengers pay more fare because of the largely increased delivery time.

38.6km circuits with two different station spacing

Above graphs zoom in the low capacity region: More stations (right) makes Waverail's PBDA curve steeper and shifted to the right. Conventional suffer badly.

The full graph shows that at high capacity Waverail pofits are nearly unaffected bythe number of stations. Conventional profits are suppressed by high number of stations.