IoT presents 'tremendous' opportunities for rail, research firm says (4/21/2016)
4/21/2016The size of the global "smart railways" market is estimated to grow from $5.34 billion in 2015 to $13.77 billion by 2020, market research company ReportBuyer announced yesterday.
Increasing adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) technology and "smart cities" initiatives are the driving forces behind market growth, company officials said in a press release.
"Passenger information system and rail analytics are expected to gain the maximum traction during the forecast period," they said.
However, challenges lie ahead in meeting the growth in demand, ensuring cost control, maintaining safety and security, achieving environmental sustainability targets and meeting customer expectations.
To take on these challenges, rail management companies are working to integrate so-called smart railway solutions. With an increase in the adoption of cloud services, the smart railways market offers "tremendous" growth opportunities over the next five years, ReportBuyer officials said.
Additionally, the convergence of rail analytics with advanced security systems provides a "huge opportunity" for companies to capture the untapped markets in developing regions.
Source: Progressive Railroading Daily News