The autonomous train market (henceforth referred to as the market studied) is anticipated to register a CAGR of about 4.81% during the forecast period (2020 – 2025).

  • The continuous advancement in transportation technology has made autonomous transportation possible. Though this technology is in the nascent stage it is impacting all the modes of transportation such as trains. Rails are quietly making important advances in the development of driverless and eventually autonomous trains.
  • The growing demand for safety, security, and efficient transport are majorly driving the autonomous train market. These trains are equipped with the latest technology which includes the latest sensors, high-powered cameras, advanced navigation systems, and onboard computer systems.
  • The implementation of autonomous technology in trains can be more useful in reducing the number of accidents and pollution, reducing the load on fossil fuels, and an increase in efficiency. As, autonomous trains take comparatively less time to cover long distances than regular trains, as autonomous trains are connected server, which enables the trains to measure the exact distance between the trains.
  • Various rail manufacturers around the world working towards making this technology regular and some of them have already been successful.



Key Market Trends

Growing Demand for Digitalization of Rails

The global supply chains industry is transforming and creating more challenges for the logistics business, with the increasing pressure to deliver fast and flexible services at a lower cost. In the rapidly evolving context, freight rail is grappling with ferocious competition from road transport a trend that will only intensify under the effect of disruptive technologies like the autonomous train and on-demand mobility services.

Moreover, as of 2019, the world is facing an economic slowdown in every region, owing to which the railways around the globe have been hit by significant government budget cuts, limiting their ability to invest in infrastructure or maintain high service standards. At the same time, the railway industry is in the transformation stage, led by emerging digital technologies like 5G, big data, the Internet of Things, automation, artificial intelligence, and blockchain.

The digital technology has penetrated into almost every component of railway operations which includes rolling stock, Control and signaling systems, Railway infrastructure, communications, etc. The advancement in digital technology, providing a unique opportunity for railways not just to stay relevant, but also to increase their share in the overall logistics market, and to become an integral part of the transition toward a greener, more sustainable freight transport.

Autonomous Trains Are Anticipated to Grow More in Asia-Pacific

Asia-Pacific is anticipated to lead the autonomous train market followed by Europe and North America respectively. Japan and China have a significant number of high-speed automatic trains. The rail industry in Japan has witnessed significant achievements and the implementation of notable projects. The governments across Asian countries are investing in autonomous rail projects and launching new rails projects which are likely to drive the autonomous train demand in the region. For instance, China is likely to start a ’smart’ high-speed railway line equipped with automated bullet trains and AI-powered robotic porters by the end of 2019. The self-driving trains, named Fuxing or Rejuvenation, will use an automatic train operating system developed by Chinese engineers.

Countries in Europe are technologically advanced and witness a higher rate of adoption of advanced technology. Consequently, Europe is likely to hold the second position in the global autonomous trains market over the forecast period.

Competitive Landscape

Some of the major players in the autonomous trains market are Bombardier Transportation, Siemens AG, Alstom S.A., Thales Group, Ansaldo STS, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Rio Tinto among others.

Rio Tinto completed the transition to full automatic driverless operation of its entire heavy-haul rail system in the Pilbara region of Western Australia on June 14, 2019 making it the world’s first fully-automated mainline rail network.

French National Railways (SNCF) completed its first test run in July with a remotely controlled locomotive- hauled autonomous train, as part of a project to develop driverless passenger and freight train prototypes by 2022.

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