The global market for new diesel-driven and alternative-drive locomotives was at a value of approximately €3.8 billion in 2025. After a sharp decline, the market for new diesel and alternative-drive locomotives has risen significantly again in recent years. In North America, moderate growth in the new vehicle market was also observed, starting from a historically low level in the USA in 2021. In Western Europe, the delivery of larger fleets of dual-mode mainline locomotives has caused the market volume to rise sharply. SCI Verkehr expects a further significant increase in the new vehicle business by 2030. Many alternative drive locomotive types will emerge from the testing stage and are set to gain significant market shares.

Based on current developments in the railway transport market, this study, entitled “Diesel and alternative drive locomotives – Global market trends 2025”, delivers an analysis and sound estimate of the market for diesel and alternative drive locomotives. Based on the successful study “Diesel locomotives – Global market trends” from 2023, in the past few years SCI Verkehr has verified the central input data and optimized its forecasting methodology. The study analyses both the market for mainline locomotives as well as for shunting (incl. universal) locomotives.

In concrete terms, this multi-client market study includes:

1. A regionally differentiated look at the worldwide market for diesel and alternative drive locomotives including an in-depth analysis of important national markets (analysis of all seven world regions as well as a total of nine focus countries)
2. A comprehensive analysis of the current fleet concerning operational purposes, quantities and age structures as well as future procurement potential
3. An overview of the most important drivers behind the procurement and refurbishment of diesel and alternative drive locomotives in the individual regions
4. Analysis of market shares of manufacturers for each region (based on locomotive deliveries within the years 2021 and 2025) as well as a forecast of new procurement and after-sales volumes of diesel and alternative drive locomotives (in EUR) for each region up to 2030
5. A condensed presentation of the most important fleet-specific features of diesel and alternative drive locomotives in diagram form
6. Brief description of important current procurement projects