Railway Coupling Market Size, Share and COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Type (Manual, Semi-Automatic, and Automatic), By Application (Passenger Trains and Freight Trains) and Regional Forecast, 2024-2032

Railway coupling or coupler is a device placed at each end of a rolling stock that connects them together to form a train. Couplers help maximize the strength, reliability, flexibility, convenience, and safety level of operators & passengers in a train. Rising demand for high speed trains, in tandem with growing investment to strengthen rail infrastructure will propel the market growth of railway coupling.

Growing investment in railway projects to enhance international and domestic connectivity, logistic operations and to overcome supply chain disruptions will support the market growth of railway coupling over the forecast period. In June 2022, the Federal Railroad Administration announced a grant of USD 368 million in the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements program in 32 states and the District of Columbia. Further, these investments will play a vital role in modernizing the country’s railway infrastructure, strengthening supply chains, aiding in reducing congestion, and easing the mode of transportation by making it more affordable.

Railways are considered as a key to sustainable mobility, the increase of rail’s share for both passenger and freight transport is leading to congestion problems. Market players, therefore, are leveraging digital and automation solutions to increase efficiency, and reduce transport cost & time. Virtual Coupling is gaining traction in recent years to accommodate more trains and increase service flexibility. It is a modern signaling concept, in which the distance between trains shifts from an absolute braking distance to a relative safety distance , allowing them to travel at much closer proximity, thus, freeing up space on the rest of the infrastructure. This allows several trains to run in a synchronous way, automatically adjusting their speed based on the preceding train to maintain the safety margin between the trains and form a convoy.

However, high running and maintenance cost are challenging the railway coupling market. Frequent delay in execution of railway projects are affecting the demand for railway couplers.  Railway projects require huge investments, making them a major cost burden for an economy. Frequent delays in project implementation and huge time gaps between planning, and execution are affecting the demand for railway couplers, which in turn is hampering the growth of railway coupling market.  

Impact of COVID-19 on the Railway Coupling Market

The COVID-19 pandemic adversely impacted the railroads industry in the first half of 2020 due to the rapid spread of the COVID-10 virus. Stringent lockdown measures by the government to contain the pandemic slowed down the manufacturing process of the locomotives, which led to lower demand for rail equipment and machinery. Disruption in supply chain and logistics, shortage of labor, electric components, batteries, and semiconductor impeded the growth of railway coupling market. However, the market witnessed growth in 2021 owing increasing government spending on rail infrastructure and growing trend of automation of technologies.

Key Insights

The report will cover the following key insights:

• Key Industry Developments – Mergers, Acquisitions and Partnerships


• Porter’s Five Forces Analysis


• PEST Analysis


• Technological Developments


• Impact of COVID-19 on Railway Coupling Market

Analysis by Type

By Type, railway coupling market is segmented into manual, semi-automatic, and automatic. The semi-automatic railway coupling is anticipated to grow at a significant CAGR over the forecast period. The positive market outlook is contributed to their rapid usage in freight trains. The semi-automatic railway coupler enables remote connection, and offers optimum passenger & goods safety.

Regional Analysis

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The Asia Pacific region held a high market share in 2021 owing to rising procurement of trains. This in turn, will increase the demand for railway coupling in the region. China and India are essential contributors to this region. India and China hold the largest market in terms of volume. Furthermore, higher usage of railways in countries including India, China, and Japan will support the market demand for railwway coupling in coming years.

Key Players Covered

The report will include the profiles of key players such as Wabtec Corp., OLEO International, A.D. Electrosteel Pvt. Ltd, Amsted Industries Inc., Dellner Couplers AB, CIM LAF, Escorts Ltd., Jiangsu Tedrail Industrial Co. Ltd., Irwin Car and Equipment, Nippon Steel Corp., Strato Inc., Titagarh Wagons Ltd., Trinity Industries Inc., Shanghai Suyu Railway Material, Voith GmbH & Co. KGaA.

Segmentation

Key Industry Developments

• In September 2022, Knorr-Bremse, developed a new electric contact coupler (e-coupler) for the Digital Automatic Coupler to support end-to-end data lines on freight trains. By connecting data lines and power from the locomotive to the last freight car, e-couplers will act as a crucial interface in the digital freight train.