Railway infrastructure disturbances and train operator performance: The role of weather

In this paper, we estimate the effects of weather conditions such as wind, temperature and precipitation on railway operator performance of passenger train services. We distinguish between the direct effects of weather conditions and the indirect effects through disturbances in infrastructure. We show that certain types of bad weather mainly affect train operators’ performance indirectly, through their effect on infrastructure. Furthermore, we show that the welfare losses for passengers confronted with increased cancellations of trains and decreased punctuality in The Netherlands due to one standard deviation increase in infrastructure disruptions amount to about €80 million per year.