Description

The global smart railway market size was valued at USD 16,525.5 million in 2020 and to reach USD 38,469.7 million by 2027, at a CAGR of 12.8% from 2021 to 2027. The smart railway is a technologically advanced approach to efficiently manage railway operations through sharing rail data across rail infrastructure components, such as passengers, control centers, ticketing departments, and freight. Smart railways are integrated of the latest technologies, including the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, cloud, analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), global positioning system (GPS), and machine learning (ML), to make rail operations more efficient and accurate. The growth of the global smart railways market is driven by digital infrastructure penetration and the requirement for automated & autonomous rail operations. The majority of railways are operated through government authorities, where procurement and installation of such smart technologies are done through contracts and agreements. Winning these contracts or agreements is the key strategy adopted by the market participants in the global smart railways market.

The factors such as rapid urbanization coupled with local commute requirements, the surge in need for passenger & freight capacity, increase in the number of railway projects across the globe, and change in passenger payment habits are expected to drive the growth of the global smart railways market. However, high installation costs and infrastructure changes of the existing system are expected to restrain the development of the market during the forecast period. On the contrary, changes in ridership outlook and entering into contracts/agreements with rail operators for business expansion are anticipated to offer remunerative opportunities for the development of the market in the near future.

Rapid urbanization & local commute requirements, rise in demand for passenger & freight capacity, increase in the number of railway projects across the globe, changes in passenger payment habits are expected to drive the global smart railways market growth. However, the high installation cost and infrastructure changes of the existing system are the factors that are expected to restrain the growth of the market during the forecast period. Conversely, changes in ridership outlook and entering into contracts/agreements with rail operators for business expansion are expected to provide lucrative opportunities for the market's growth in the near future.

Global Smart Railway Market Dynamics

Drivers: Rapid urbanization coupled with rising in local commute requirements

In recent years, urbanization is attaining its peak, as the majority of the population is shifting to urban areas, owing to increased work opportunities and rapid industrialization. In this era of urbanization, convenient daily commute between workplace and residence is the need for every individual. Moreover, urban passengers are more inclined toward rail commute, as it serves as a time-effective alternative to avoid unnecessary traffic congestion. Thus, the increase in reliability of urban passengers on the railway for daily commute significantly contributes toward the growth of the global market. However, most urban passengers face issues with real-time mode information, overall commute duration, and safety during travel via conventional railways, which hamper the working efficiency of passengers. Smart railways enable the real-time information of railways, streamline railway operations, and ease fare payment. Thus, an upsurge in usage of railways for daily commute in urban areas and changes in the digital outlook of passengers are expected to spur the demand for smart railways in the upcoming years.

Restraints: High installation cost

The installation of smart railway technology solutions in railways incurs high cost and includes installing payment collection equipment & checking devices, setting of communication network (wired networks), installing network equipment (all kinds of networks), fixing installed system hardware, fine-tuning & testing system hardware, and monitoring interaction between system components along with infrastructural changes in railways. These upgrades of the existing system are associated with high costs compared to the current and traditional railway systems. Thus, the high installation cost of the technology is expected to hamper the growth of the smart railways market.

Opportunities: Changes in ridership outlook

Real-time information, higher safety, reliability, and efficiency, and increased convenience and ease of travel experience are among the essential requirements of modern rail passengers. In addition, the preference for rail for local commute is increasing gradually. The rise in the use of high-speed metro trains & monorails is expected to foster the market's growth, which contributes toward high revenue generation. Manufacturers need to align their product offerings to attain the desired set of requirements by the rail operators and rail passengers. Changes in transportation preferences of passengers and an increase in the trend of digitalization are expected to offer remunerative opportunities for the expansion of the global smart railways in the upcoming years.

Scope of the Report

The study categorizes the smart railway market based on system, offering type, and regions.

By System (2017-2027, USD Billion, Revenue)

• Passenger Information System
• Rail & Freight Operations Management System
• Smart Safety & Security Monitoring System
• Rail communication & Networking System
• Smart Ticketing System
• Rail Analytics System
• Others

By Offering Type (2017-2027, USD Billion, Revenue)

• Solutions
• Components & Devices
• Services

By Region Outlook (2017-2027, USD Billion, Revenue)

• North America (US, Canada, Mexico)
• South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Rest of Latin America)
• Europe (Germany, Italy, France, UK, Spain, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Rest of Europe)
• Asia Pacific (China, Japan, India, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, the Philippines, Singapore, Australia & New Zealand, Rest of Asia Pacific)
• The Middle East & Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, South Africa, Northern Africa, Rest of MEA)

Rail & Freight Operations Management System is estimated to be the fastest-growing segment during the forecast period

By system, the global smart railways market is categorized into the passenger information system, rail & freight operations management system, smart safety & security monitoring system, rail communication & networking system, smart ticketing system, rail analytics system, and others. Rail & freight operations management system is the fastest-growing segment of the smart railway system, having a CAGR of 15.8% during the forecast period and having a market revenue share of 17.43% in 2020.

In recent years, rail operations have experienced a shift toward advanced automation technologies to attain the optimum output requirements, including cost-saving, reducing deployment time, enabling efficient working, and minimizing deployment-related disruptions. This system is majorly deployed or managed by the third-party technology solution providers Increase in inclination toward automated technologies for rail operations is expected to boost the growth of the rail & fright operations management system segment. Market players are focused on winning the contracts to gain a competitive advantage and retain long-term business opportunities for the rail & freight operations management systems. For instance, in February 2020, GMV won a contract to supply Philippine National Railways with its SAE-r fleet operation, management, and planning platform.

Asia Pacific accounts for the highest CAGR during the forecast period in the smart railway market.

Based on region, the global smart railway market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America, and the Middle East & Africa. The Asia Pacific has a growth rate of 14.2% during the forecast period and has a revenue share of 27.95% in 2020. Asia-Pacific includes countries such as China, India, Japan, South Korea, and the Rest of Asia-Pacific. Asia-Pacific includes Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, New Zealand, and others. China, South Korea, and Japan have reached higher standards in train automation. India has emerged as a developing market for smart railways, owing to changing rail passenger outlook and the increasing number of rail projects in the region. The train automation industry in Asia-Pacific is well-equipped with the latest technologies such as Communications-based Train Control (CBTC), European Railway Traffic Management System (ERTMS), Automatic Train Control (ATC), and Positive Train Control (PTC) in their railway tracks, making the system secure and efficient.

China is working toward introducing fully automated passenger and freight trains by 2022 to increase their efficiency. In addition, China has the second-highest rail transport network size of 131,000 km after the U.S. and plans to have 150,000 kilometers of operating rail lines by 2020. Moreover, India has designed several new rail projects across the country to support the increasing demand for rail passengers and freight transport. India has 70,000 km of rail transport network size. Railway infrastructure investments in India are expected to increase in the near future, owing to investor-friendly policy support from the Indian Government.

Important Smart Railway Market Competitors

The global smart railway market is fragmented into a few significant players, and other local, small, and mid-sized manufacturers/providers are Alstom, BOMBARDIER INC., ABB Ltd, Siemens AG, Cisco Systems, Inc., Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., IBM, Indra Sistemas, S.A., Hitachi, Ltd., and Aitek S.P.A. has generated the maximum market share in 2020. These market players are adopting growth strategies to strengthen their position in the market. Product launches and partnerships are the key growth strategies adopted by different key players in the market.

Recent Market Developments

• In August 2020, Alstom completed implementing the signaling system installed in the renovated Line San Martín Viaduct. This state-of-the-art electronic system enables to handle all signaling on the six kilometers of brand-new tracks separating the stations of Palermo and Villa del Parque and is responsible for the safe operation of the trains.
• In March 2018, Delhi Metro's new Line 7 is equipped with the BOMBARDIER CITYFLO 650 driverless rail control technology, commuters, which will connect from Majlis Park to South Campus, the 22- km trip.
• In April 2019, Siemens Mobility and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) successfully installed and operationalized a new signaling system in Johannesburg Park Station, Braamfontein, and Pretoria station.
• In October 2020, Hitachi, Ltd. (Hitachi), Hitachi Rail STS S.p.A. (Hitachi Rail), and Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) signed approximately JPY 92.0 billion contracts with HPH Consortium, the prime contractor for Panama Metro Line 3. Hitachi and Hitachi Rail will provide 28 six-car vehicles (168 cars), the signaling systems, telecommunication systems, power systems, control center, platform screen doors, and depot equipment.

Key Issues Addressed

• What is the market size by various segmentation of the smart railway by region and its respective countries?
• What are the customer buying behavior, key takeaways, and Porter's five forces of the smart railway market?
• What are the key opportunities and trends for manufacturers involved in the intelligent railway supply chain?
• What are the fundamental dynamics (drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges) of the market?
• What and how are regulations, schemes, patents, and policies impacting the growth of the market?
• What are the upcoming technological solutions influencing market trends? How will existing companies adapt to the new change in technology?
• The market player positioning, top winning strategies by years, company product developments, and launches will be?
• How has COVID-19 impacted the demand and sales of smart railways in the global market? Also, the expected BPS drop or rise count of the market and market predicted recovery period.
• Detailed analysis of the competitors and their latest launch, and what are the prominent startups introduced in the target market? Also, detailed company profiling of 25+ leading and prominent companies in the market.