The Railway Telematics Market 1st Edition

The Railway Telematics Market is the first report from Berg Insightanalysing the latest developments on the rolling stock trackingand monitoring market worldwide. This strategic research reportfrom Berg Insight provides you with 110 pages of unique businessintelligence including 5-year industry forecasts and expertcommentary on which to base your business decisions.

Since the mid-19th century, railways have played a crucial role in driving economic growthacross the Western world. However, in recent decades, the proportion of goods transported byrail has declined in North America and several European countries. During the same period, roadtransport has gained a larger share, offering greater flexibility and shorter delivery times.Transporting goods and passengers by rail offers other advantages, which are becomingincreasingly valued. For instance, per ton-kilometre, rail produces up to six times fewergreenhouse gas emissions than road transport. Transitioning passenger and freight transportfrom roads to rails is essential for achieving sustainability goals.

To compete more effectively with road and other transport modes, the rail industry must adoptsolutions that enhance efficiency and reliability. Digitalisation is widely regarded as a critical stepin achieving this goal. A key digitalisation initiative in the rail freight sector involves equippingwagons and locomotives with telematics devices and sensors. Using GPS and cellular or satellitecommunication technologies, these devices collect and transmit data on the location andcondition of the rolling stock to backend servers and cloud-based systems in real-time.Accessing this data through an intuitive user interface enables rolling stock operators and fleetowners to increase operational efficiency, reduce maintenance and service costs, and improveservice levels.

This report covers telematics and monitoring solutions for vehicles and assets transported onrailways, i.e. locomotives, multiple units, passenger cars and freight cars. The main focus is onconventional railways, i.e. freight, commuter, regional, intercity and high-speed rail, and not onmetro, light rail, monorail and trams. The scope does not cover solutions for rail infrastructuresuch as signalling systems, switches and other trackside solutions. Passenger ticketing,infotainment and on-board Wi-Fi connectivity solutions are also excluded.There is a fundamental difference between solutions developed for powered assets (e.g.locomotives and multiple units) and unpowered assets (e.g. freight wagons). Telematics devicesfor unpowered assets require a long-lasting battery and are often complemented by solar panelsto operate for an extended period of time. Devices for powered assets can draw power from theexisting electrical system of the train and are thus not as power-constrained. There are alsodifferences between safety regulations and operation goals of the freight and passenger trafficindustries, which influence the railway telematics market. The market is therefore largely dividedinto companies offering solutions for rail freight wagons and companies providing solutions forlocomotives and multiple units. Modern locomotives and passenger trains typically include some type of tracking and monitoring technology as standard. The large OEMs, such as Alstom,Siemens Mobility, CAF, Hitachi Rail and Stadler Rail, develop connected solutions for their trains.Several specialist telematics and on-board train technology companies provide aftermarketsolutions, offering hardware and software solutions that enable remote monitoring of the locationand health of locomotives and multiple units. Companies in this category include the Europeancompanies EKE-Electronics (Finland), HaslerRail (Switzerland), Nomad Digital (the UK) andRailnova (Belgium), and the North American companies Railhead (USA), Wi-Tronix (USA),Quester Tangent (Canada) and ZTR Control Systems (Canada).

Tracking solutions for rail freight wagons are provided mainly by specialist telematics providersoffering aftermarket solutions. Leading providers in this space include the European companiesNexxiot (Switzerland), DOT Telematik and Systemtechnik (Austria), Siemens Mobility (Germany),SAVVY Telematic Systems (Switzerland), Intermodal Telematics (Belgium), Level Systems(Czech Republic) and Cargomon Systems (Austria) as well as the North American companiesAmsted Rail (USA) and Blackberry (Canada).

The market for real-time tracking solutions for locomotives, multiple units and rail wagons isforecasted to grow substantially during the coming years. There is a general sentiment ofoptimism in the railway telematics industry, underpinned by increasing awareness of the benefitsassociated with remote monitoring solutions among stakeholders in the railway industry. Theinstalled base of tracking devices on rail freight wagons reached 775,000 units worldwide at theend of 2024. By the end of 2029, the installed base is forecasted to reach 1.3 million units. Annualshipments are estimated to grow from 150,000 units in 2024 to around 360,000 units in 2029.Globally, the penetration of tracking devices within the rail freight wagon segment reached 14.5percent at the end of 2024. This figure is estimated to reach 23.3 percent at the end of 2029.