According to the new research report titled "Railway Cyber Security Market Forecast to 2027 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis," published by The Insight Partners, the global railway cyber security market is expected to reach US$ 11,001.4 million by 2027, registering a CAGR of 8.2% during 2020-2027, the forecast period considered in the report.

APAC railway cyber security market to grow at highest CAGR during forecast period

The railway cyber security market in the Asia Pacific is estimated to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The growth of railway cyber security in Asia Pacific is due to increasing urban transit and railway digitization by major players and regional governments. This is designed to cope with rising consumer demand for convenient and secure travel and to meet fuel-efficiency standards to limit CO2 emissions. For example, the Optiflo rail control service solutions from Bombardier in APAC, introduced new advancements in compelling, data-driven, predictive maintenance, and cyber security solutions. Increasing urbanization has caused rapid population growth in cities. The urban population currently account for more than 54% of the total population. Furthermore, many countries are investing in metros to reduce road traffic. Developing countries such as India and China are investing significantly in the development of the metro infrastructure. Metro systems are successfully operating in 10 Indian cities, while about 25 new projects are in the pipeline. The Indian government had allocated a US$ 2.2 billion fund for the Metro budget during 2018-2019. China is planning to invest USD 11.4 billion in urban rail project development in Changchun.

The developed metro infrastructure is well connected and technologically advanced. These metros nowadays have automation level 3 or level 4. This increasing railway automation level is fueling the demand for cyber security in the railways. Additionally, increasing numbers of Asia Pacific exhibitions and summits are also expected to contribute to the growth of the market during the forecast period. For example, Nokia took part in the 2019 Asia Pacific Rail Exhibition and showcased the latest technologies and innovations. Similarly, in 2018, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) organized a Cyber Security Summit, and in October 2019, Singapore launched the ASEAN-Singapore Cyber Security Center of Excellence to conduct research and train staffs to respond to the cyber threats.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Railway Cyber Security Market

According to latest situation report (22nd June 2020) from World Health Organization (WHO), the US, Brazil, Russia, India, Spain, Italy, Germany, the UK, and China are some of the worst affected countries due to COVID-19 outbreak. The COVID-19 outbreak was started in Wuhan (China) in December 2019 and it has then spread across various countries in the world. As per latest WHO figures, there are total 8, 860, 331 confirmed COVID-19 cases globally with ~465,740 deaths and the number is growing at varying rates in different countries. The COVID-19 crisis has affected various industries worldwide and the global economy is anticipated to face a slump in the year 2020 and likely in 2021 as well. The effect of COVID-19 on various economies differs based on the level of outbreak in the specific countries. The estimated short term (coming 1 year) impact of COVID-19 outbreak on various regions overall economy.

Key findings of study:
Digital transformation trend is defined as the integration of digital technologies in various processes, activities, and business models to increase productivity and reduce operational costs. The companies across the world are embracing digitalization to transform their existing business models and processes for increasing operational efficiency and revenue. The railway industry is no exception to this trend and it is going through a paradigm shift with disrupting business models, evolving pricing and cost structures, and increasing competition. The key areas for digital transformation in railways include development of new business models & offerings, digitalization of core operations, and building a strong internal digital foundation. Multimodality platforms, easy customer interfaces, fleet management, automated train operations, and advanced analytics are some of the key areas of digital transformation in the global railway industry. Business process optimization, cost reduction, high operational efficiency, and prevention of human errors are some of the key factors that are fueling the digital transformation trend in railway industry. Digital transformation has now become a crucial need for the sustainable growth of any enterprise, owing to the increasing customer demands and rising industry competition. Along with numerous benefits, digitalization/digital transformation is also increasing the risk of cyber threats due to increasing number of attack points in the enterprise networks. Hence, in order to understand the potential cyber risks that come with digital transformation and to strengthen the information security infrastructure, companies across the world are investing in cyber security solutions and services which are driving the growth of railway cyber security network.