Lateral wear of the locomotive wheel flange is one of the main types of wear that occurs during rolling stock operation. An important characteristic of a rail wheel rim is its wear resistance, which directly depends on the carbon content in steel. The carbon content in wheel steel of group 2 in the amount of 0,55–0,65 is due to the fact that at its lower concentration, the proportion of grain boundary ferrite increases, which leads to a decrease in the contact strength of wheels, and a higher one leads to a tendency to brittle fracture.

The increased carbon content makes it possible to harden the surface of steel. Plasma and laser hardening technologies can be used to reduce tyre flange wear and increase the service life of locomotive wheelsets.

The objective of this work is to determine advantages and disadvantages of technologies for laser and plasma hardening of working surfaces of tyres of wheelsets of railway rolling stock.

The comparative analysis related to microstructure and microhardness of wheelsets tyres of the 2TE25KM diesel locomotive which are made of wheel steel of group 2 according to GOST 398-2010 state standard and hardened respectively by plasma and laser hardening.

The tasks set were solved using theoretical and experimental research methods. The preparation and study of hardened samples was carried out using the equipment of the testing laboratory of LLC Scientific and Technical Association «IRE-Polus».

A study referred to hardened zones in various areas and sections of the tyre. Tribological tests concerned wear resistance of specimens hardened with a high-power fiber laser. The main advantages and disadvantages of laser and plasma hardening processes are revealed.

The conducted studies allow making a conclusion that the use of laser hardening technology for hardening wheelsets tyres, as an alternative to the plasma hardening process, is highly promising.

A modern approach to determining the useful life of components and parts of rolling stock allows not only to estimate the pre-failure state of an object, but also to predict its useful life.

The objective of the study is to predict the mileage of wheelsets of modern electric trains of the «Rusich» series based on the use of statistical data and assessment of the residual life.

The study used real data recorded during maintenance and repair of electric trains.

The proposed approach allows getting a vivid presentation of the equipment wear rate, since it is based on the use of the measured parameters of the object. The analysis of these values makes it possible to determine the processes occurring in the product. When using large samples, it becomes possible to approximate the obtained numerical values and make a forecast of the technical condition with greater reliability.

The task of predicting the residual life is quite complicated and must be solved separately for each type of equipment. That is why the generally accepted world practices are associated with preventive maintenance and repair system, while modern automated digital systems for technical diagnostics (including on-board and built-in ones) make it possible to partially switch to technical maintenance and repair considering the actual technical condition of the rolling stock.

The expediency of using a hybrid power system with the use of traction batteries on a diesel locomotive is substantiated since the relevance of the problem being solved lies in the possibility of increasing the weight norm of the train without reducing the performance of the main power equipment of the diesel locomotive, which is of great importance for improving the efficiency of railways.

To predict the effectiveness of introduction of autonomous locomotives with a combined power source, traction properties of a diesel locomotive equipped with a set of traction batteries are estimated by mathematical modelling. The basis of the method is a dynamic model of train movement, in which the locomotive is represented as an electromechanical system with a direct current electric drive, where a diesel power generator and a lithium-ion battery are used as the primary energy source. It is shown that the use of a hybrid power source with a storage device with capacity of 1300 ampere-hours on a diesel locomotive makes it possible to increase the weight rate of a train by 18 % when moving along a typical profile. Particular attention is paid to the requirements for operation of traction electric machines to prevent their premature failure. It was found that during movement of a locomotive with a hybrid power plant with a train of the calculated weight and under normal environmental conditions (20°C and normal barometric pressure), an increase in the load current of traction motors does not lead to overheating of their windings at the calculated upward slope.

The model suggested is universal and allows calculating the efficiency of a diesel locomotive with a hybrid power plant under any driving conditions.

Main technical and operational characteristics of the locomotive receiver of the automatic locomotive signalling system, which is part of all types of core locomotive safety devices, comprise its sensitivity. This characteristic makes it possible to estimate by indirect methods the signal/noise ratio at the input of the locomotive receiver, and, therefore, to evaluate the noise immunity of its operation at the nominal parameters of amperage and current frequency of signals of automatic locomotive signalling system in the track circuit under operating conditions.

Thanks to correct adjustment of the sensitivity of the locomotive receiver, it is possible to significantly reduce the number of failures in operation of the main locomotive safety devices. Checking the sensitivity of the locomotive receiver and other parameters of safety devices is carried out at control points, usually equipped in depots, using stationary test loops that simulate the electromagnetic field generated by the signal current flowing in the track circuit. Sensitivity measurement results are influenced by various factors, primarily the position of the receiving coils along the test loop performed with crossings, as well as the distance between adjacent crossings. The influence of these factors may lead to the impossibility of checking the correct operation of locomotive safety devices at nominal signal parameters, as well as to an incorrect assessment of sensitivity.

The objective of this work is to evaluate the influence of these factors on the results of measuring the sensitivity of a locomotive receiver. A model developed as part of the work and based on the well-known methods of analysis and synthesis and the Biot−Savart− Laplace law describes the inductive connection «test loop−coil». Several characteristic dependencies have been also obtained. The results have been compared with the existing requirements for the position of the coils relative to the test loop performed with crossings.

To ensure the most accurate results of measurements of the sensitivity of the locomotive receiver, it is proposed to place the receiving coils of the locomotive safety devices at an equal distance from adjacent crossings of the test loop.

The objective of the work is to study methods for forecasting transport systems development and determine their suitability under economic instability conditions.

The modern methodology for forecasting the development of regional transport systems includes expert and formal methods, methods of active and passive forecasting.

The use of expert systems, scenario forecasting and strategic planning can be mentioned as promising areas.

Scenario planning is more adapted to non-linear transformations in the economy than traditional linear planning. In traditional planning, the past explains the present, in scenario planning, the future is the meaning of the present, the future is created.

The variety and instability of statistical indicators encourages creation of hybrid systems of forecasting models. They are based on regression models, as well as on intelligent models, including artificial neural networks, analytical networks, etc., which are complemented by scenario forecasting.

The identification of the main factors that determine the functioning of the transport network of the European and Ural Arctic facilitated the choice of methods for forecasting its development. The main factors negatively affecting the development of the transport network of the region under the study are the insufficiency of freight flows in the ports; insufficient capacity of seaports’ access roads; political, social, natural-climatic, and other risks.

The example of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) illustrates the use of a hybrid system of forecasting models to obtain possible values of traffic volumes. Based on the analysis of regression models and the study of the possibility of achieving the target traffic volume by 2024, it was concluded that this model is basically acceptable for forecasting the volume of goods transported along the NSR.

The article analyses the problem of synthesis of the systems of safe control of critical technological processes on the example of railway automation and remote control systems.

It is shown that modern control systems for complex distributed systems, such as a railway transport system, are not implemented with absolute safety. The safety of such systems is limited by considering only their own failures, external failures of control systems and their components, as well as failures of infrastructure objects that directly interact with control devices. Other infrastructure facilities are not considered in any way during automatic control and data transfer to on-board automation.

The objective of the article is to present theoretical concept of the synthesis of safe train traffic control systems, considering the capacity of equipping infrastructure facilities with highly reliable and safe means of technical diagnostics and monitoring.

A shown simplified structure of the central train traffic control centre considers the results of diagnosing and monitoring all the components of the transportation process.

The conditions for the synthesis of completely safe train traffic control systems are formulated along with the accompanying tasks. A comprehensive accounting of the parameters of railway infrastructure facilities and rolling stock will allow reaching a qualitatively higher level of train traffic safety.

The article presents an assessment of electric vehicle readiness of the transport infrastructure of the city of St. Petersburg. The relevance of the topic is obvious since today there is an active growth in the electric vehicle market, and its further development is on the official agenda of the transport industry. It is noted that the active use of electric vehicles in Russia implies the corresponding development of infrastructure, especially in such large cities as St. Petersburg.

The authors have described core studies on the prerequisites and prospects for development of the electric vehicle market and relevant transport infrastructure. The analysis of various factors for popularisation of electric vehicles allowed to conclude that scientific literature does not contain fully developed methodology for assessing the rate of electric vehicle readiness of the transport infrastructure. The most significant factors influencing the scaling of electric vehicles have been identified and analysed allowing to identify criteria and indicators for assessing the electric vehicle readiness of infrastructure, to determine the weight of each criterion and to carry out an analysis of the current state of the urban infrastructure. Achieving of the objective of the research which is the assessment of electric vehicle readiness of the transport infrastructure of the city of St. Petersburg, was facilitated by authors’ system approach, analysis, integrated and expert assessments.

The methodology for calculating the rate of readiness to use new transport solutions comprises assessment of four components. The analysis of scientific works helped to identify the factors influencing development and popularisation of electric vehicles. It was revealed that the most significant factor determining the pace of dissemination of electric vehicles is the availability of infrastructure.

The conclusion is made about the better development in the city of such elements as operation of an electric charging stations (ECS) and an information system. The calculation of final assessment of the transport infrastructure of St. Petersburg is shown in the table.

The study has allowed to obtain a general assessment of the electric vehicle readiness of the transport infrastructure, as well as to assess each element of electric vehicle system.

The process of supply of enterprises with material and equipment is one of the most important conditions for uninterrupted and productive performance of economic entities. Therefore, it is important to pay attention not only to the number of transactions and purchases, and rational use of those resources but also to the time of delivery to enterprises, to the travel time. Delay in supply of necessary resources may cause reduction in production efficiency that further will result in losses for enterprises. This topic is relevant not only for individual business structures and organisations, or all over the national transport system, but from the regional aspect as well.

The article using an example of Orenburg region considers not only general issues of development of regional transport and logistics system but also the features of rail transportation.

The proposed classification of subsystems of supply chain management based on core activity indicators supposes further in-depth diagnostics to reveal the causes of occurrence of signs of inefficiency in rail transportation and their prompt elimination.

In modern, rapidly developing cities of the world, building an urban transport model requires traffic data. The lack of those data does not allow making timely management decisions on distribution of passenger flows, namely within transport flows. Currently, there are various methods and systems for counting passenger flows, such as the manual staff counts, survey and counted ticketed entries methods, and various automated technology-based systems. However, those well-known methods have their drawbacks.

For this reason, the task to search for alternative methods and data sources for the study of passenger flows remains relevant.

This article is based on the updated results of the study recently conducted by the author during preparation of his master’s thesis. During the study and developing previous author’s papers, data on connections of passengers to Wi-Fi routers were chosen as a data source. Since this phase of the study was conducted on the territory of Moscow transport hub, in metro and on Moscow Central Diameters (MCD), where the cars are equipped with great number of Wi-Fi routers, with free connection and Internet access, it has increased the sample Wi-Fi data array significantly.

The objective of the study was to study the possibility of processing Wi-Fi data obtained from Wi-Fi scanners as a passenger flow analysis tool.

The study has revealed that, on average, up to 40% of passengers in metro and MCD cars on the studied lines use the WI-FI module turned on in their mobile devices.

The results of the study have confirmed that Wi-Fi data can be used as a tool for passenger traffic analysis, but at the same time revealed the necessity to integrate them with other data sources, as well as the strong dependence of the result of Wi-Fi data processing on the technical features of the Wi-Fi scanner and its location in the vehicle during experiments. You can find the first part of the article in the issue.

The final part of the article, the first part of which was published in the previous issue of the journal.

The article, based on the archived and other never published materials, discusses the history of design and construction of Krivandino–Ryazanovka and Sazonovo–Pilevo railways which belonged to Moscow–Ryazan branch of Moscow railway. The objective of the article was to clarify the circumstances of design, construction and operation of these lines, as well as to identify the reasons that led to their decline and closure in the mid-2000s. To achieve this objective, well-known publications in the press and the Internet were analysed. In addition to using data from these sources, written sources on the issue under study were searched for in archival institutions in Moscow. Some documents are published for the first time.

The work carried out resulted in revealing previously unknown or questioned facts: Krivandino–Ryazanovka railway line was built in 1943–1944, Sazonovo–Ryazanovka section was built later than the rest of the line. The purpose of Krivandino–Ryazanovka line according to the project and in the first years of its existence was transportation of firewood for heating of Moscow. The date of commissioning of the entire Sazonovo–Pilevo line for servicing Kurovskaya distance of the railway was January 1, 1978. From the northern neck of Pilevo station, the access railway went to the construction yard of Meshcherskoye peat enterprise. According to information of Kurovskaya distance of the railway, the broad-gauge transshipment station of Meshcherskoye peat enterprise was called Torfyanaya.

Three previous issues of World of Transport and Transportation acquainted the readers with the main contents of the report delivered by Nikolai Petrovich Verkhovsky at the session of the VIII Department of the Imperial Russian Technical Society while presenting his book «Railway Confusion», dedicated to the comprehensive solution of a wide range of pressing issues of organising the work of railways. The report, in fact, was a detailed and accentuated presentation of the book’s content.

The discussion that followed the report is also of great interest. It allows to introduce the essence of opinions and views prevailing then in professional railway community regarding such «eternal» issues as optimal career trajectory, corporate culture, labour productivity, role of bonus awarding in motivating higher efficiency of management and staff, balanced ratio of role and volume of wages of managers and engineers, countering violations of discipline, load implied by excessive reporting and its paradoxial role in relief of injust punishment.

The specific aspect of the discussion engaging the chairman of the meeting and the speaker can also be of interest since it refers to missing feedback from readers to pubications in railway jounrals.

The editorial publication presents the main content of the stenographic report published in the Rail Business journal.

Punctuation and vocabulary of the original publication are preserved in the text as much as possible.

Actual problems of legal regulation and organisation of control and supervisory activity: Textbook [Aktualnie problemy pravovogo regulirovaniya i organizatsii kontrolnonadzornoi deyatelnosti: Uchebnik]. Team of authors; under general editorship of A. I. Zemlin. Moscow, KnoRus publ., 2023, 592 p. ISBN 978-5-406-10620-4.

The article is a review of the textbook «Actual problems of legal regulation and organisation of control and supervisory activity: Textbook» intended for students of transport universities studying in master’s programs. The textbook was prepared by the staff of the Department of Transport Law of the Law Institute of the Russian University of Transport under the general editorship of the Honoured Scientist of the Russian Federation, D.Sc. (Law), Professor Alexander I. Zemlin. The review highlights the relevance of the topics included in the content of the textbook, the breadth of their coverage, which allows for a complete and comprehensive mastering of the didactic material, the depth of the scientific approach demonstrated by the authors in the process of working on the publication, the practical significance and potential relevance of the textbook. The sufficiency of the material presented in the textbook is especially significant for both the students of transport educational organisations and acting inspectors of Federal Service for Supervision of Transport (Rostransnadzor) from the point of view of development of professional competencies, which are necessary for successful fulfilment of their official duties in conformity with the provisions of the Federal Law dated July 31, 2020, No. 248-FZ «On State Control (Supervision) and Municipal Control in the Russian Federation» valid from July 1, 2021.

The textbook is recommended as main educational literature for training of master’s students in Jurisprudence and for inspectors of Rostransnadzor attending the programs of additional professional education «Legal provisions and organisation of control and supervision activity in transport industry» and «Organisational and legal foundations of control and supervision activity in transport industry». When preparing the textbook, reference legal systems «GARANT» and «ConsultantPlus» were used, the validity of laws is as of March 1, 2022.

The OSJD Bulletin – the edition of the Organization for Co-Operation between Railways – celebrates its 65th anniversary. Being of the same age as the organisation itself, Bulletin has been diligently informing about its activities, acquainted the readers with all their aspects, and with the achievements of its members, revealed the most important projects, popularised scientific and engineering ideas. With the kind consent of our colleagues from editorial board of OSJD Bulletin, we present the main content of the article by the OSJD Committee Chairman Miroslaw Antonowicz and Editor-in-Chief Sergey Kabenkov published in the anniversary issue.