The Global Monorail System market is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 4% over the forecast period.

Among the urban rail transit systems, monorail transit system is a typical and popular system with nearly 50-year of safe operation in places like Japan, Southeast Asian countries, Europe, the United States, Canada, and others. According to the positional relationship between the vehicle and the track beam, it can be divided into two types of monorail such as straddle monorail and suspend type monorail. The type of propulsion system that is used in these rails is again classified as electric or magnetic (maglev).

The growing need for reliable transportation, increasing traffic congestion and environmental sustainability has resulted in an increasing demand for voluminous and clean transport systems. This is expected to drive the demand for monorail systems. In developing countries, the ever-increasing urbanization has led to an increase in the demand for public transportation systems. This has led governments in these regions to develop infrastructure for rail networks such as monorails, light rails, and metros. Metros and heavy rails are generally suited for travelling longer distances whereas monorails are used to commute over shorter distances. The low cost of installation (electric systems compared to maglev) and efficient operation has meant that most developing countries like Egypt, India, Brazil etc. have opted for these systems as an alternative mode for transportation.

Asia Pacific is expected to dominate the market due to the presence of high number of developed as well as developing nations. North America and Europe are other prominent markets. The transition of GCC countries from oil dependent nations to urban centers is also expected to drive the market in the Middle East.

Key Market Trends

Ability to handle medium-high traffic makes Monorail an attractive proposition in tier-2 cities

From the figure, it can be observed that in Bournemouth, the peak passenger carrying capacity of monorail is approximately half than in comparison to metro. In different places across the world, especially in tier-1 cities and metro areas, this ratio of metro to monorail has even reached 4:1 based on the traffic and population. Hence, monorail is mostly suitable for regions where the population varies between 1.5 million to 3 million. Also, most monorails are often adopted for distances between 0.25Km to 15Km making them a good proposition in tier-2 and similar places where the total geographical area is not very large. In contrast, metro systems generally operate between urban cores and their outer suburbs within a 12km to 20km distance.

The cost of an elevated two-track rail structure per kilometer costs approximately US$ 60 million in comparison to US$ 160 million for a similar structure built underground. Hence, monorails are cheaper to construct than subway systems. And if both a monorail and metro system are constructed on an elevated track structure, the cost of operation and maintenance for monorail will be lower as it involves less number of stations and lower number of passenger carrying cars. Hence, with the aforementioned advantages, the market for monorail is expected to grow over the forecast period.

Straddle type monorail expected to hold a larger share compared to suspended type

Straddle monorail is a system in which the passenger cars can make use of wheels traveling on the track/beam. Apart from these walking wheels, there are also stabilizing wheels and guiding wheels on both sides of the bogie, which clamp on the sides of the track/beam to ensure safely and smooth running. This makes the straddle monorail system suitable for urban and complex terrains which are surrounded by a high concentration of buildings, mountainous terrains, coastal cities, as well as suburban areas. It is also a good choice for countries with low economic growth and fiscal revenue, to develop urban rail transit in their cities

Th track/beam system of monorail is made up of precast reinforced concrete structure integrated with some structural parts, power supply, and signal facilities. As a result, it has characteristics such as small volume, compact structure, and good landscape for passengers. The rail also does not have a pantograph and over-head power supply thus decreasing the effective height of the whole system considerably. And because the rail can travel in a small curvature, and the track being mostly elevated above road it requires less land use than traditional rail system. This subsequently makes better use of limited space available in cities and reduces the need for un-wanted urban demolition. Hence this system is preferred over suspension type.

Competitive Landscape

Major manufacturers operating in the monorail system market are: Bombardier, Siemens, CRRC, Hitachi, Intamin Transportation, BYD Co Ltd, and others. Acquisitions and mergers are some of the strategies being adopted by the players to stay relevant in the market and garner more market share. New product launches and continuous technological innovations are also the characteristics of most companies in the market studied.

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