Light-rail vehicles: Global market growth despite system competition from metro and bus

The market for light-rail vehicles (LRV) has seen continuous growth over a decade and will continue to expand over the next five years. The global market volume for new rail vehicles (OEM) and the after-sales business (AS) for LRVs will amount to approx. 6.5 billion euros in 2023 and will develop at an average annual growth rate of 3.8%, according to the analysis by SCI Verkehr in the current multi-client study: ‘Light Rail Vehicles - Global Market Trends 2024’. The new vehicle market is driving medium-term development, particularly through replacement purchases in Europe and North America - the main driver for future volumes is the replacement of old vehicles. Europe remains the leading region and accounts for over 60% of the total OEM volume. Here in particular, investments are being made in modern vehicles with better energy efficiency and more safety through driver assistance systems, which are replacing robust old trams from the 1970s-1990s. New infrastructure projects continue to be implemented but are developing at a slower pace than expected a few years ago, particularly in emerging countries. The main reasons for the slowdown are budget constraints and the preference for other modes of transport over light rail transit (LRT). In metropolises, the metro is preferred due to the need for high transport capacity. Based on lower investment costs per route kilometre, similar transport capacity and comparable environmental friendliness through the use of modern electric buses, more and more cities are also choosing the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system instead of LRT as a supplementary system.