Investment in Railway Construction Projects Dominates Europes Rail Market

Image Courtesy of Timetric

According to a new report by Timetrics Construction Intelligence Center, 15 of the major economies in Europe are investing over US$1.43 trillion in road and rail construction projects in the coming years. Russia leads with investment of US$433 billion, followed by the UK and France with US$263 billion and US$167 billion, respectively.

The railways sector has the highest value at US$804 billion, followed by the roads sector at US$301 billion. Tunnels and bridges is valued at US$227 billion and the trams and metros sector has a value of US$96 billion. Russia leads in investment in railways, roads and tunnels and bridges.

European Rail Market

Despite being the leading economy in Europe, Germany is in seventh place among the 15 countries studied with investment of US$51 billion. This comparatively low investment could act as a brake on the economy domestically and in the wider Eurozone. The UK is investing heavily in infrastructure projects, which it is hoped will help drive the economy. Large UK projects include Crossrail 1 and 2, the HS2 rail link and various London-based road and tunnel projects mooted to relieve congestion in the capital, such as the SkyCycle path and the Inner Orbital Route.

The developing economies of eastern Europe are expecting high growth up to 2017, outpacing most western European countries. Investment in cross border road and rail projects as well as those in the major population areas will help to sustain this growth. The 15 European countries studied have over 73% of the projects which are worth US$1.05 trillion at the pre-construction stage.

Infrastructure investment in the road and rail sector is likely to be the driving force for the European economies in the coming years as transport links between east and west are strengthened. Apart from the massive rail projects such as the UKs Crossrail, HS2 and Russias Moscow to Ekaterinburg HS Rail Link, large metro developments in Spain, Russia, Poland, Denmark, Romania and Turkey are also improving the transport infrastructure in these countries’ capitals, says Neil Martin, Manager at Timetric CIC.