Rail Transportation Market: Global Industry Analysis and Forecast (2024-2030)

Rail Transportation Market was valued at US$ 269.92  Bn. in 2023 and the total revenue is expected to grow at 4.5% of CAGR through 2024 to 2030, reaching nearly US$ 367.32 Bn.
Rail Transportation Market Overview:
Investments made by the railroad industry are fueling important technological innovations and advancements, such as connected solutions to enhance scheduling, service, safety, security, accessibility, profitable operations, and capacity planning for the future, while also highlighting the vital role that railroads will play in passenger and freight transportation during the forecast period.

Globally, investment in new and current railway network infrastructure is rising for a number of reasons. Railways are the most environmentally benign means of land transportation, using far less energy and emitting significantly less CO2 per tonne-kilometer than either roads or waterways. Rail- transportation advertises itself as being particularly future-proof and boosts the rail transportation market. It saves a ton of resources and pollutes the air relatively little.

In comparison to the present rate of 18%, 290 million tonnes of CO2 could be avoided annually if railroads had a 30% share of the modal split in European freight transport. Consequently, more freight must be transported through railroads in order to meet the climate change goals. The European Union has an ambitious goal to stop this tendency. In order to lower CO2 emissions from the transportation industry and to relieve traffic on busy road links, it wants to quadruple the modal share of freight rail by 2030. By achieving this goal, freight rail volumes would increase by around 6% annually in ton-kilometers (km) and drive the rail transportation market during the forecast period.

Modernizing train infrastructure and reducing transportation's carbon footprint are priorities in numerous areas. According to forecasts, the European Green Deal, a comprehensive stimulus plan with a sustainability focus, would spend €87.5 billion on train infrastructure. Similar funds and grants totaling $66 billion are provided under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) of the United States for the construction of new rail corridors, the renovation of existing rail tracks, and safety enhancements. A comprehensive network of high-speed trains in Africa is at the center of "Agenda 2063" as one of its 15 flagship initiatives and drives the rail transportation market growth. more detail about investments and strategies by key players are detailed covered in the report.To know about the Research Methodology :- Request Free Sample Report
Rail Transportation Market Dynamics:
Infrastructure investment and Rolling stock investments are a key opportunities for new market players

Long term, operators may increase investment in infrastructure and service quality in the rail transportation market. This will very likely demand investments in high-density, high-speed, and high-frequency networks. This involves boosting capacity and service levels through capital expenditures in rolling stock, infrastructure, and digital technology in the rail transportation market.

Operators are modernizing their fleets all throughout the world. Rolling stock investments are expected to grow at a 6% annual pace across all regions between 2019 and 2024. New rolling stock boosts capacity, enhances customer happiness, and provides the chance to renovate interiors, add connections, and improve services. Train travel is defined as an efficient and convenient passenger service by three factors: density, speed, and frequency—and the case for high density, high speed, and high frequency has already been established countless times across the world. The advent of high-speed rail in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Japan significantly increased rail transportation market share, displacing vehicles for shorter routes and planes for longer distances.

High-speed connections are key achievement factors since journey duration has a significant influence on rail transport market share when compared to air travel. Furthermore, several regions are concentrating on rail infrastructure modernization and decarbonization. The European Green Deal, a broad stimulus package aimed at promoting sustainability, is expected to include €87.5 billion in rail infrastructure investment. Similarly, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) of the United States invests $66 billion in funding and grants for corridor development, rail track upgrading, and safety improvements. In Africa, an integrated high-speed train network is one of 15 flagship projects in the "Agenda 2063."

Increasing CO2 emissions hampering the rail transportation market growth

As urbanization increases population density inside cities and city agglomerations, rail is an efficient way to relieve traffic congestion from individual mobility in densely populated areas while also promoting sustainability. Rail emits four to six times less CO2 than driving an internal combustion engine automobile, and even less than electric vehicles. When compared to air travel, the train is a more environmentally friendly choice, emitting 10 to 15 times less CO2 per passenger. All parties may need to work together to discover methods to realize the benefits of rail for users, operators, and nations. For example, operators and policymakers may collaborate to build an integrated view of the rail business model and its role in reducing traffic congestion, promoting sustainability, and contributing to the economic growth of the rail transportation market.

Price is important to customers to drive the market

The research depends on a representative sample of consumers from nine countries across three continents (Europe, Asia, and North America) According to the findings, affordability, safety, dependability, and convenience are still the most important factors for passengers when deciding on a method of rail transportation market. Except for China, individuals regard pricing as their primary factor for selecting a method of transportation these are the most important factors to drive the rail transport market growth during the forecast period.

Sustainability-related criteria seem to play a minor role in passenger travel choices, with noteworthy regional differences—between 3% of consumers (Japan) and 19% (China) said that this feature is one of their top-three decision criteria. When questioned about their sustainability habits, 87 percent of consumers said they were interested in sustainable train offers, but just 12 percent said they would be ready to pay a premium for sustainable products or services. Long-distance passengers value convenience aspects such as travel duration and the number of changes necessary on the route more than price (26 percent vs, 34 percent for medium and 32 percent for short-distance travel).

Given today's consumer expectations, the rail transportation services market might concentrate on their key offers, such as convenience, dependability, and speed, as well as pricing and safety, to improve passenger numbers and raise rail's modal share. Railway infrastructure expansions and continuing maintenance and repair spending can assist in allowing this and helps to boost the rail transportation market growth.
Global Rail Transportation Market Segment Analysis:
Based on Type, the Global Rail Transportation Market is segmented into Passenger Rail Transport, and Rail Freight. Passenger Rail Transport held the largest market share in 2023. To attract more customers and improve the travel experience, operators might grow their existing networks. This may be done by a variety of means, including reaching out to new passenger groups with new services and differentiated pricing, as well as modernizing and improving both the train and station customer experience.

Trains might be repositioned as multipurpose venues that do more than just provide seats to cross distances. Development of onboard amenities like digital connectivity, as well as luggage concierge, pet transportation market, and meal ordering services, might be implemented to achieve huge rail transport market growth. Operators might also concentrate their efforts on optimizing the end-to-end trip and providing a full mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) experience, for example, via mobile applications. Several operators are collaborating within their travel ecosystems to create a single pass that allows customers to access different modes of transportation, including automobiles, e-bikes, and trains, expected to boost the rail transportation market growth during the forecast period.

One of the benefits of rail passenger travel over air transport is that it provides direct trips from the city center to the city center and significantly less burdensome border and security processes at international rail stations. In the United Kingdom, for example, a specific system for processing border controls is in existence. When using cross-border Eurostar services, there is no border control at arrival in order to speed up the arrivals process and suit the demands of business travelers and the tourism industry.

There are also plans to unite the two main international high-speed rail passenger companies, Eurostar and Thalys, which might provide passengers with more international connections via the Channel Tunnel. Eurostar and Thalys announced a merger in 2019 ("Project Greenspeed"), with the process likely to be completed in 2022. This has the potential to create new international connections for train passengers in the United Kingdom, such as new direct or well-integrated interchanges to areas such as France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. And more details about each country’s passenger rail transport are covered in the report.

Based on the Distance, the Global Rail Transportation Market is segmented into short-distance and long-distance. Long distance segment is expected to dominate the market during the forecast period. Americans make 2.6 billion long-distance journeys every year or 7.2 million trips per day. Almost nine out of ten long-distance travels are made by personal vehicle, with public transit accounting for roughly ten percent. Over 7% of long-distance travels are performed by air, whereas 2% are taken by bus (including scheduled, charter, and other bus trips). Train travel accounts for over 1% of all long-distance travel. The railway system in the United Kingdom is primarily domestic and is utilized for both long-distance transport and city-to-city commutes.

Between South of England and North of France, high-speed rail services and the Shuttle are offered through the Channel Tunnel, moving 2.5 million passenger cars and 1.7 trucks annually. Member States, through the activities of the Working Party on Rail Transport of the Inland Transport Committee, can make a considerable contribution to the improvement of international passenger rail transportation through the updating of relevant legal instruments under their purview to reflect the growing need of passengers to travel long distances with surface rail transportation market.
Rail Transportation Market Regional Insights:
The Europe region dominated the rail transportation market with a 45% share in 2023. For many European countries, rail transport is a symbol of economic prosperity and national pride, and the importance of railways shows no signs of decreasing. In the last five years, passenger kilometers have increased by more than 10%, and rail has surpassed air travel on major intercity routes. Rail transport accounts for around 7% of passenger travel in Europe, compared to less than 1% in the Americas. Railway travel is being pushed even further by the European Green Deal and national regulations. Furthermore, the French government's decision to cancel short-haul flights on Air France as a condition for supporting the carrier during the COVID-19 crisis would certainly result in more people taking to the rails.

The railway industry is clearly important to Europe. Many world-class train-control and traffic-management OEMs (such as Alstom, Bombardier, Hitachi Rail STS, Siemens, and Thales) are either European or have a significant portion of their global footprint in Europe. In all, Europe accounts for over 60% of the world's train control and traffic-management market. These OEMs are global leaders in signaling advances such as moving-block technology, which lets trains operate in the sequence of braking distance, improving capacity by more than 20% on many lines, and completely autonomous operations, which enhance capacity and safety even further. European OEMs have previously developed and commercialized similar systems in collaboration with railroads, albeit on a modest scale and drive the European rail transportation market.

The European railway sector can, in fact, continue to push forward breakthrough technologies. The potential of rail to evolve into an economically viable and ecologically benign mode of transportation is dependent on digitization, and we believe Europe is in an excellent starting position to accomplish this growth and a successful digital transformation. The task is great, the window of opportunity is limited, and everyone in the sector must be prepared to collaborate and adapt, regardless of function. Both within and outside of Europe, the potential improvements in cost efficiency and capacity, as well as the benefits of decreased CO2 emissions, are significant. Operators, governments, and OEMs must move quickly to be successful.
Global Rail Transportation Market Scope: Inquire before buying



Rail Transportation Market


Report Coverage
Details


Base Year:
2023
Forecast Period:
2024-2030


Historical Data:
2018 to 2023
Market Size in 2023:
US $ 269.92 Bn.


Forecast Period 2024 to 2030 CAGR:
4.5%
Market Size in 2030:
US $ 367.32 Bn.


 Segments Covered:
by Type
Passenger Rail Transport
Rail Freight


by Distance
Long Distance
Short distance



Rail Transportation Market, by Region
North America (United States, Canada and Mexico)
Europe (UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Austria and Rest of Europe)
Asia Pacific (China, South Korea, Japan, India, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Rest of APAC)
Middle East and Africa (South Africa, GCC, Egypt, Nigeria and Rest of ME&A)
South America (Brazil, Argentina Rest of South America)
Rail Transportation Market, Key Players are:
1. Amtrak (US)
2. CSX Corporation (US)
3. R. J. Corman Railroad Group, LLC (US)
4. Patriot Rail Company (US)
5. Professional Transportation, Inc. (US)
6. Union Pacific Railroad Company (US)
7. BNSF Railway (US)
8. Canadian National Railway Company (Canada)
9. DB Cargo (Germany)
10. DHL International GmbH (Germany)
11. Deutsche Bahn AG (Germany)
12. Thales Group (France)
13. LFP Perthus (Spain)
14. PKP Group (Poland)
15. Baltic Rail AS (Estonia)
16. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (India)
17. Indian Railway (India)
18. Nippon Express Co. Ltd. (Japan)
19. Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (Malaysia)
20. Toll Holdings Ltd. (Australia)
21. Arkas Logistics (Turkey)

Frequently Asked Questions:

1] What is rail transportation?
Ans. Rail transportation is also known as rail transportation. It is a mode of transportation based on cars that travel on tracks (rails or railroads). It is one of the most significant, widely used, and cost-effective forms of transportation for both long and small distances.

2] What are the two types of rail transport?
Ans. Types of railway/railroads
Fell mountain railway system Heavy rail., Inter-city rail., High-speed rail., Higher-speed rail., Heritage railway., Monorail., Mountain railway.

3] What is the importance of rail transport?
Ans. In India, railways are the primary means of freight and passenger transportation. Railways also enable the conduct of various activities such as commerce, sightseeing, and pilgrimage, in addition to the movement of products across great distances.

4] How efficient is rail transportation?
Ans. In fact, trains can travel more than 480 miles on a single gallon of gasoline, making them three to four times more fuel efficient than trucks. Railroads continue to invest in technologies to minimize fuel usage since freight rail is the most fuel-efficient means to convey freight over land.

5] What was the Rail Transportation Market size in 2023?
Ans. The Global Rail Transportation Market size was valued at US$ 269.92 Bn. in 2023.