How Rail Components Market is Evolving

Richa Singh

In 2020, the market for rail components market was estimated to be worth USD 78 billion, and it is anticipated to grow to USD 96 billion by 2026, showing a CAGR of more than 4% over the course of the forecast period (2021 - 2026). In 2020, the global lock downs enforced by governments owing to the COVID-19 outbreak severely restricted the market for rail components, causing supply chains to break down and consumer demand to drop.

However, the market is anticipated to recover its growth following the lock down because governments will launch a number of new initiatives to maintain social distance because, in the wake of the pandemic, people will be more concerned about their safety and security as well as the quality of the air they breathe.

These actions should increase production of Rail components. In order to create a strong and lasting rail, it's important to use the correct rail components of railroad track. In this article, we will talk about the most recent developments in rail component market.

Current Market Trends for Rail Component

High-speed rail and metros have seen enormous investment. The term "high-speed rail" refers to train services that travel long distances between stations while maintaining a top speed of more than 250 kph.

Light rail refers to tramways and other smaller capacity, lower speed urban transportation systems, most frequently at street level, whereas metro rail refers to high-frequency, high capacity urban services that are completely segregated from traffic and frequently underground or elevated.

In the Rail Tech Invention Awards, Global Railway Engineering Pty Limited presented its Scheffel Self Steering innovation. All rail systems that support a three-part bogie can use this three-part self-steering bogie. The firm claims that their invention allows for fuel savings and reduces the possibility of a component derailment.

OEM companies like Siemens have made improvements to their products, such as elastic wheel fittings on their Lexege LRV bogies, which have been created to reduce squeaking noise by up to 90%.Additionally, the business has been working on designing a variable-height bogie that can run on both 1000 mm and 1435 mm track.

Technological Advancements and Innovations

Artificial Intelligence: In the railway sector, artificial intelligence (AI) has several uses, including asset management, predictive maintenance, and emergency alerting.

Train scheduling is improved, and delays are reduced, through deep learning techniques and neural networks. Ahead-of-the-curve passenger information systems also enhance transit offerings and raise customer satisfaction.

The Train Brain, a Swedish firm, creates AI algorithms to increase the dependability of public transportation. The start-up’s technology offers real-time traffic simulations, reporting, and delay forecasts. To forecast the rail network, the technology analyses data from GPS or signalling systems as well as train time tables. The Train Brain enables customers to make better educated commute or trip plans and rail operators to make data-driven traffic planning decisions

Internet of Trains

The dependability and safety of the rail system are significantly impacted by the internet of trains. By preventing delays brought on by track and train component failures, condition-based monitoring maximises maintenance effectiveness and costs while also raising customer satisfaction. Advanced analytics made possible by IoT also enables railway operators to identify data-driven solutions to increase fleet control and the effectiveness of rail operations.

Train Crossing Information System:

A cost-effective solution is provided by Canadian company TRAINFO to lessen traffic bottlenecks at train crossings. The business decides when to open and close rail crossings using train sensors, Bluetooth, and prediction algorithms. Then, this information is disseminated to motorists via informational systems including traffic signals, Smartphone applications, and roadside signs. The start-up’s approach helps municipal planners when creating and managing infrastructure, such as railroad crossings.

India has the fourth largest railway network with over 22,593 operating trains with a daily passenger count of 24 million passengers and 203.88 million tons of freight. India's railway network is recognized as one of the largest railway systems in the world under single management. Under Modi Government, there has been a shift in vision to improve the infrastructure in the country and since 2014; the pace of infrastructural development has skyrocketed with the introduction of modern systems at par with global standards. Says Kulmeet Singh Chhabra, Managing Director of ISC Projects

Cost Pressures and Decreased Margins

The Indian railway system has been crucial to the growth of the nation, moving people and commodities over a wide portion of the country, integrating marketplaces, and tying communities together. Despite a nearly 200% rise in rail passenger traffic and a 150% increase in rail freight traffic since 2000, India still has a significant latent demand for transportation. For instance, each privately owned road car in India makes an average daily distance of 3 kilometres, compared to 17.5 kilometres in Europe. In fact, India is expected to have the greatest growth in rail activity worldwide. Currently, India's conventional rail network has almost 68000 km of routes that are used for both passenger and freight transportation. Approximately 515 kilometres of track are now in use for metro rail in 10 Indian cities, while an additional 620 km are being built. In the coming years, 600 km further of metro lines are anticipated.

Conclusion

All in all, there is a lot that goes into rail components and the manufacturing process. It's a complex and fascinating process, and the results are evident in the high quality of rail components. Every step of the process is important, and the end product is a testament to the skill and expertise of the rail component manufacturers.