Railways in the World

Chronicle

2024

15 years of work, 4x budget growth and no results. New railway named as Britain's biggest engineering failure

At the end of August 2024, it became known that the HS2 (High Speed ​ ​ ​​2) project to create a high-speed railway connection in Britain became one of the largest engineering failures in the history of the country. After 15 years of planning and study, as well as against the background of multiple excess of the originally planned budget, there are no results. Read more here.

Russia and 14 other countries agreed on joint digitalization of railways

At the end of May 2024, Russia and 14 friendly countries agreed to accelerate the digital transformation of railway transport in the Asia-Pacific region. We are talking about the organization of electronic exchange of information between industry enterprises, as well as regulatory authorities on the railway network of the specified region. Read more here.

2023: Global Digital Market Size for Railways Valued at $68.49 Billion

In 2023, the global digital technology market for railways reached $68.49 billion, while a year earlier the costs were estimated at $62.1 billion. Thus, the growth was approximately 10%. Such data are reflected in the Market Research Future study, the results of which were released in mid-July 2024.

One of the drivers of the industry is called improving the safety and efficiency of railway operations. Accidents and derailments can lead to serious consequences, including deaths, material damage and significant disruptions to transport networks. The use of digital technologies, such as sophisticated alarm and collision prevention systems, reduces the risk of accidents and improves safety in general. In addition, digital systems provide the ability to remotely monitor and manage compositions. In addition, automation of various types of operations is provided, which eliminates the human factor and reduces personnel costs. The development of digital technologies on railway transport is also facilitated by urbanization and increased population density.

Among the key players in the market in question are Siemens, Wabtec, Cisco, ABB, Huawei, Thales, IBM, Alstom, Bombardier and Tego. In regional terms, North America is leading in terms of costs, which in 2022 accounted for $28.4 billion. Next is Europe, where there is a growing need for safer and more environmentally friendly transport systems. Rounding out the top three is the Asia-Pacific region with the fastest growth in the industry.

According to Market Research Future estimates, the CAGR (compound percentage CAGR) in the global digital technology market for railways from 2023 to 2032 will be 10.3%. As a result, by the end of this period, expenses may be at the level of $150 billion.^[1]

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