Rail Composites Market

Rail Composites Market Analysis

The Rail Composites Market is expected to register a CAGR of greater than 5% during the forecast period.

The rail composites have shown steady growth in the global market. The usage of composite in railways is widely accepted in major economies as it makes the railways lighter and provides special characteristics, thus improving overall performance. Furthermore, the rail composite market recovered steadily after the decrease in demand due to covid-19 and is further expected to grow during the forecast period.

• Over the medium term, the major factors driving the growth of the market studied are the increasing number of railway projects in the Asia-Pacific region, especially in China, India, and Singapore, and the global demand for high-speed rail.
• The lack of railway infrastructure in countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand and the resin issues in the FST performance of rail composites are hindering the growth of the market studied.
• However, the increasing demand for lightweight rail rolling is expected to create opportunities for the market studied over the forecast period.

Rail Composites Market Trends

Exterior Application to Dominate the Market

• Composites are widely used in various applications in the locomotive industry. It plays a major role in the manufacturing of trains. The demand for lightweight and durable body parts in railways is increasing.
• While composite components were initially limited to the interior parts of the railway bogies, the heavy improvements in the structural properties of the composites and their low weight have prompted manufacturers to use composites for external components in recent decades.
• The exterior structural components where composites can be used are kinematic hatches, roof panels, exterior side panels, side skirts, and doors.
• Composites are prominently used in the manufacturing of exterior parts due to their high strength-to-weight ratio, high stiffness-to-weight ratio, excellent corrosion resistance, and low thermal conductivity.
• Polyester glass fiber composites were initially used for components like exterior noses. However, in recent years, the share of carbon fiber in exterior components has been growing.
• Additionally, the building of a complete rail bogie using carbon fiber requires a large quantity of composite materials in exterior rail applications.
• The global locomotive industry is growing. The United States, China, Russia, and India have the top locomotive industries in the world.
• Several railways projects have been under construction in the United States. Some of them include the Las Vegas to Victorville high-speed line, which has a length of 270 km and will be completed by 2023, and the Texas Central Railway project, which has a length of 370 km and will be completed by 2026.
• The increasing investments and the construction of new railway routes are expected to boost the demand for the trains, which further is expected to increase the demand for rail composites in coming years.
• Thus, based on the aforementioned aspects, the exterior application segment is expected to dominate the market.

Asia-Pacific Region to Dominate the Market

• In the Asia-Pacific region, the growing population and the increasing urbanization in countries such as China, India, and Japan, are boosting the demand for better connectivity and an increase in the number of trains.
• The governments of these countries have been investing in the locomotive industry, further driving the demand for the market studied.
• The Chinese government has been investing in railways in recent times. Some of the ongoing railway projects in the country include the Lagos to Ibadan railway (156 km), the Yinxi High-Speed railway (618 km), and the Shanghai to Hangzhou railway (794 km).
• Furthermore, the Indian Railways has been allotted INR 1.40 lakh crore in the Union Budget 2022-23, which is 27.5 percent higher than the Budget estimates for this fiscal year.
• In February 2022, the Indian railways announced that it will procure 90,000 wagons in the next three financial years, for which the process of issuing tenders will start from March. The estimated cost of this project is about INR 31,000 crore.
• In India, several metro projects are underway. Some of them include Phase 2 of the Chennai Metro, Phase 4 of the Delhi Metro, and the East-West Metro in Kolkata. These projects are expected to be operational by the beginning of 2025.
• Japan and the ASEAN countries have also been contributing to the growth of the market studied.
• Hence, based on the aforementioned aspects, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to dominate the market.

Rail Composites Industry Overview

The global rail composites market is fragmented in nature, with many players having insignificant shares in the market. The major companies (not in any particular order) are Solvay, Toray Industries Inc., LANXESS, Hexcel Corporation, and TEIJIN LIMITED.

Rail Composites Market Leaders

Rail Composites Market News

• In May 2021, Celanese announced its plan to initiate a three-year plan to expand its LFT (long-fiber thermoplastics ) capacity in Nanjing, China. This is expected to be completed by the second half of 2023.