Verification of life-cycle cost and reliability for the Swedish high speed train X2000

Each X2000 trainset is made up of one power car, one buffet car, and four first class coaches, one of which is a driving trailer. Although the top speed in service is only 210 km/h, the average speed is relatively high in international terms at about 160 km/h, reducing the travelling time between Stockholm and Gothenburg from about 4 hours to under 3 hours. Though it is acknowledged that the most important reliability work is done during the design phase, the main topic of this paper is the verification phase, i.e. the phase where the predictions carried out during the design phase is compared to the actual operating experience. The verification that was demanded in the contract was partly theoretical and partly experimental, comprising both a life support cost verification and a reliability verification