Connected Rail Market Expected to Reach $162.8 Billion by 2033

According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, “Connected Rail Market," The Connected Rail Market Size was valued at $84.1 billion in 2021, and is estimated to reach $162.8 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 5.7% from 2022 to 2033.

Presently, the global connected rail market is dominated by North America followed by Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. In Asia-Pacific, the market is mainly driven by China owing to the optimistic market scenario for the railway sector in the region. In North America, the US is foreseen to witness considerable growth in the connected rail market during the forecast period.

In addition, factors such as surge in integration of the Internet of Things (IoT) in the railway industry, along with increase in demand for safety & compliance in rail transit, passenger, and freight capacity are expected to drive the connected rail market growth. However, lack of technological infrastructure and infrastructure changes in existing systems are expected to hamper market growth. Furthermore, technological advancements in autonomous rail & green transportation and an increase in reliance on computing systems are anticipated to offer remunerative opportunities for the Connected Rail Industry expansion during the forecast period.

Use of IoT in railways has increased as it improves infrastructure reliability and safety in trains. IoT sensors generate data that supports analysis and understanding of conditions that were not possible in past. A large quantity of data is utilized to enhance train schedules and for maintenance of equipment, with the help of IoT. In addition, IoT has the potential to improve work productivity of railway operations. It fills gaps in communication and control systems by connecting networks to cloud-based applications. Furthermore, railways of many countries have adopted IoT to improve their productivity and enhancement services. For instance, in 2021, the UK network rail started the use of IoT, AI, and deep learning to improve its railway system.

Moreover, railway operators have collaborted with connected rail companies to enhance network connectivity. For instance, in March 2022, Alstom, signed a contract with Santiago, Chile to provide its Urbalis CBTC signaling system for 20 years of maintenance and 37 Metropolis trains. Therefore, increase in use of IoT in railways drives the connected rail industry growth for diversity in digital railway solutions and telecommunication technology. Surge in demand for safety and compliance in rail transit, such as theft protection and hygienic stations has increased significantly in recent years. This has led to rise in demand for safety and compliance in rail transit, which provides better infrastructure for railway. For instance, in June 2022, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced over $368 million in Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant program funds to 46 projects in 32 states and the District of Columbia. These investments are expected to play a crucial role in modernizing rail infrastructure and supply chains in the region, helping to reduce crowding and getting people and goods where they need to go quickly and more at a reasonable cost.

The connected rail market is segmented on the basis of service, rolling stock, safety & signaling system, and region. By service, the market is divided into passenger information system, train tracking & monitoring, automated fare collection system, passenger mobility, and predictive maintenance. By rolling stock, it is classified into freight wagons, passenger wagons, diesel locomotive, electric locomotive, and light rail & trams. By safety & signaling system, it is classified into positive train control, communication-based train control, and automated train control. Region wise, the Connected Rail Industry is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA.

Furthermore, the significant factors impacting the demand for connected rail are integration of the Internet of Things (IoT) in the railway industry, rise in demand for safety and compliance in rail transit, and increase in demand for passenger and freight capacity are expected to drive the Connected Rail Market Analysis. However, lack of technological infrastructure & consistency in developing countries and infrastructure changes of the existing system are expected to hamper the market growth. Furthermore, technological advancements in autonomous rail & green transport and increase in reliance on computing systems are anticipated to offer remunerative opportunities for expansion of the market in the future.

KEY FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

• By service, the passenger vehicle segment dominated the global connected rail market in 2023, in terms of revenue.
• By rolling stock, the electric locomotive segment is expected to register significant growth, registering a CAGR of 7.0% during the Connected Rail Market Forecast period.
• By safety & signaling system, the communication-based train control segment is expected to register significant growth, registering a CAGR of 6.1% during the forecast period.
• By region, Europe dominated the global connected rail market in 2023 in terms of Connected Rail Market Share.

The prominent players profiled in connected rail market includes Alstom, Cisco Systems Inc., Hitachi Ltd., Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., IBM (International Business Machines) Corporation, Nokia, ROBERT BOSCH GmbH, Siemens AG, Wabtec Corporation, and Trimble, Inc.