Various power supply systems have developed at national and regional level at the same time as the development of rail transport. This led to an increase in the number of suppliers who, based on their products, determined the implementation of railway electrification projects.
Railway electrification is necessary in order to harmonize rail traffic and to integrate the overall economic growth tendencies into the transport flow. The implementation of railway electrification projects, the resolution of the challenges related to the parameters of existing installations, the development of installations which ensure speed optimization and their modernisation in order to improve technical-economic performances, all these require – aside from the technical and financial effort necessary at national and international level – the technical cooperation between companies that activate in this sector.
Electric traction favours the increase in commercial speed and implicitly the reduction in travel time, safety increase, pollution reduction and the uniformization of rail traffic at international level. At European level, 50% of the railway network is currently electrified. However, the issue related to the various electrification systems used (in Europe there are 5 different electrification systems) represents an obstacle in terms of interoperability.
Railway electrification represents a growing market, with positive long-term perspectives, due to the fact that it provides economic, technical and environmental advantages. Currently, more and more countries are working on electrifying their railway networks, not only to obtain economic benefits, but also in order to integrate rail transport. The investments are made both through political support and by increasing the market segment. For instance, the UK has launched a strategy on railway electrification, with an estimated investment of EUR 1.2 Billion. By building high-speed railways, Turkey is investing in railway electrification. In the near future, Turkey plans to have 2.297 km of high-speed railways. These projects require investments of around EUR 10.5 Billion. “We have the political will to support rail transport, especially high-speed, to modernise the network and implement projects for railway electrification”, said Muammer Kantarci, member of the Board of Directors at TCDD.
Azerbaijan also plans to electrify its railway network. “60% of the operational network, meaning 1.271 km out of 2.929 km, has been electrified”, said Gurban Nazirov, Chief Engineer at Azerbaijan Railways.
The railway companies in Iran, Russia and Azerbaijan have initiated the project for the electrification of Kazvin-Resht-Astara rail line. This will help provide an efficient and interoperable transport along the three railway networks, but also for international traffic, seeing as the Kazvin-Resht-Astara rail line links Europe and South-East Asia (through Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran and India).
Western Europe dominates the global railway market in terms of railway electrification. Asia is the most dynamic region in terms of development and, in the long-term, China is the largest national market in terms of developing and implementing projects for railway electrification. China is followed by Russia which plans to electrify 2.700 km of track by 2015, through the Railway System Development Program.
The railway sector presents a wide range of significant opportunities for electrification integrators and suppliers. This market is constantly growing, especially due to the activity supported by major lines and the construction of new high-speed lines. The opportunities concerning the implementation of projects for the installation of the necessary equipment are numerous, considering the investments allocated for the railway infrastructure, especially in developed countries. The emergence of new competitors and the geographical expansion of the existing market players determine the development of the railway market and industry. The current need would be to improve the power supply equipment and the efficient solutions for catenaries, which have the capacity to reduce the demand for rail infrastructure components. Also, the companies which activate on the railway electrification market need to have financial stability and to launch new and better products in order to measure up to the international competition.
In the context in which most of Russia’s export freight is carried along the railway networks in Baltic countries, Poland and Finland, and seeing as Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia are EU member states, Russia has begun to expand its position on the rail transport market. This has led Russia and all the other countries to improve their rail infrastructures, acknowledging the importance of having a single transport market. To that end, massive investments have been allocated for railway electrification and infrastructure rehabilitation and this lends a certain degree of interoperability to the international rail transport sector.
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