Rail Seats Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The rail seats market is expected to register a growth rate of more than 3% during the forecast period 2020-2025.

Key Highlights

• Owing to the increasing population and its growing demand for faster, safe and comfortable transportation, economies across the globe are investing heavily in railway infrastructure development. By 2050, the population is expected to reach 10 billion and the total share of population living in urban areas will grow to 68%. The growing investments from countries in tourism industry is also driving the growth of the market.
• Rail seat manufacturers are focusing on adding design elements such as lights to increase the appeal of seats. The lights in and around the seats could be used in several ways such as reading lights, table lights, seat reservation indication and aisle illumination lights.
• In 2018, Grammer AG displayed the integration of lighting systems on its IC3000 passenger seats. Manufacturers are also providing customized seating solutions to customers. Grammer AG and Freedman Seating company provides the option of designing the seats to meet the exact need of commuters.
• Manufacturers are also complying with the stringent pollution norms set by governments. They are integrating eco friendly options in seating design. Camira Fabrics is making fabrics from recycled plastic collected from the oceans.

Key Market Trends

Global growth for Railway Market

The three largest markets for railway products are Europe, North America and Asia Pacific and they collectively represent 80% of the market.

European Union (EU) has funded many programs that aims at boosting the railway development in Europe. Shift2rail, a research and innovation project for railways received a funding of EUR 450 million from EU and EUR 470 million from private sector for the period 2014-2020. Its objective was to decrease life cycle cost and increase rail capacity. Under Shift2rail, X2Rail-1 project aims at innovations, automation and development in railway communication and signaling by 2020.

Chile on Rails is a highly ambitious government undertaken by Chilean government with an investment of USD 5 billion to turnaround the railway infrastructure and network in the country. The project is planned to start in 2020 and aims at tripling the annual passenger numbers from 50 million to 150 million and doubling the cargo volume by 2027. The plan includes 27 security and infrastructure projects and 1000 km of railway lines.

In North America, construction of 593 kms of light transit rail covering nearly 452 stations is planned to be completed by 2035. Seat manufacturing firms such as Seats Inc. are producing wall mounted seats to incorporate space saving design element that will help in accommodating more passengers in a coach. Seats Inc. has also introduced Elastomeric Vibration Control (EVC) series of rail seats in 2018 that reduces the vibrations and shocks felt by the commuter.

Asia-Pacific is expected to exhibit the highest growth rate during the forecast period (2020 - 2025)

Asia-Pacific dominates the rail seats market. The region is expected to witness the fastest growth rate during the forecast period.

In the Asia-Pacific region, India and China are one of the largest and fastest growing markets for railway seats in the world. India is expected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period. India is making heavy investments to upgrade its rail transportation system. Owing to the growth in population, increase in intercity trade and commuting, upcoming metro projects (13 operational, 6 under construction, 7 in planning stage and 8 in proposed stage) and extension of existing lines, the Indian rail seat market is witnessing a steady growth. As of 2019, India has 716 km of operational metro lines and nearly 620 kms of metro track under construction. Another 600 kilometers of track is planned for future. Indian Government is also considering a bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad (Mumbai Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor).

China is another market where rail seats market will see a significant growth during the forecast period. China’s Medium and Long-Term Railway Plan (MLTRP) has been extended till 2030 from 2020. The plan includes the development of 100,000 kilometers of national route including 12000 kilometers of High-Speed Rail network.

The government’s Make in India initiative laid special emphasis on promoting development activities within the country. This, in turn, is expected to drive rail seats market in India.

Competitive Landscape

The market for rail seats is a fragmented one with players such as Grammer AG, Seats Inc., Saira Seats, Harita Seating System Ltd. dominating the international market.

Kustom Seating Unlimited Inc. and Kiel Group formed a new venture called KSU N.A. LLC on 25th November 2019. The venture will serve the purpose of design, manufacturing and distribution of bus and rail seats in North America.

Additional Benefits:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support