Electrification of railway lines worldwide still on the advance
-continued dynamism for the railway industry driven by investments in new development and upgrade projects, especially in China, the UK and the USA
[06.01.2010] Railway electrification is a growth market with positive prospects for the long term, as electric drive offers economic, technical and environmental advantages over diesel drive. Ever more railways are therefore deciding to electrify their lines. Investments are being made with political support and the market growth is being driven forward by the current economic stimulus packages. The worldwide market volume totals around EUR 5.5 billion at present; this will grow at a CAGR of 6.4% per year up to 2014.
Around a quarter of the global railway network of some 1,260,000 km is electrified. Some 70,000 km of newly electrified railway lines and urban rail lines will go into operation by 2014. In addition to the conventional railway, which makes up more than 70% of the entire market volume due to the large amount of existing systems, the greatest growth will be generated by the new development and upgrading of high-speed rail lines and light rail transit lines.
In terms of region, Western Europe dominates the worldwide market volume for railway electrification, primarily due to the long existing network of electrified lines and the necessary expenditure formaintenance and renewal associated with this. For new development, however, Asia is the most dynamic region. China will be the largest national market for railway electrification in the world in the medium term, followed by Russia and Germany.
Different power systems have developed in the national states and regions over the course of history. This has led to national markets for railway electrification dominated by midsized, regional providers, some of whom have advanced technologies at their disposal.
Consulting firm SCI Verkehr GmbH, which specialises on the field of railway technology and logistics, has analysed the current size, structure and players of the worldwide markets for catenary systems and traction power equipment, and developed forecasts for the coming five years. The complete study “Worldwide Markets for Railway Electrification 2009–2014” is available now
