The article discusses a set of methods with which it is possible to form a digital twin of the water area for autonomous navigation of a river vessel to solve problems of modelling movement in the water area of an autonomous vessel under various environmental parameters (flow velocity, wind speed, etc.), including dynamically changing ones within the process of vessel’s movement, to test algorithms for operation of an autonomous vessel under the conditions of emerging threats and emergency incidents. The proposed methods include aerial photography from unmanned aerial systems, airborne laser scanning and coordination of the results of their processing using geodetic equipment operating using global navigation satellite systems and serving to link all received spatial data into a single coordinate system to form high-precision digital twin components of water area, including the water’s edge and part of surface elements.
To form the bottom part of a digital twin of the water area, a possibility was considered to use bathymetric survey data collected with a multibeam echosounder, as well as aerial photography data received from an unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with a high-precision geodetic receiver and an on-board inertial system for laying out bathymetric survey routes.

The article discusses approaches to rationale of the development of the Single Backbone Transport Network (SBTN), political, scientific and mathematical prerequisites for identifying key infrastructure elements. The Transport Strategy of the Russian Federation for the period until 2030 with a forecast until 2035 provides basic criteria for each of the backbone networks of modes of transport, while it is highlighted that the development of the SBTN is carried out using transport and economic balance tools. The article explores the possibilities for the practical application of scientific methods in the implementation of state transport policy based on the existing regulatory framework.
Selection of key (backbone) transport infrastructure is proposed to be made with the Kruskal’s algorithm, as well as with corresponding optimisation methods using the principles of connectivity, alternativelessness and intensity. Description of the construction of a connected network graph includes description of its edges and vertices as well. Application of the described algorithms results in construction of the segments of the SBTN forming a connected transport network that includes the core transport structural framework of the Single Network, as well as additional sections of the network that ensure the passage of traffic flows with the highest cargo and passenger turnover, which together satisfy the restrictive conditions on financing their maintenance and repair.
The proposed methodology can be used, e.g., in development of transport and economic balance tools, as well as of specialised software for modelling traffic flows.
Thus, the article presents a rationale for providing scientific advice and guidance in implementation of state transport policy intended to improve its quality by promoting an evidence-based approach.

The paper examines methodological issues related to development of an effective mechanism for structural and parametric identification of segments (streams) within connected flows of pedestrians and passengers through complex, long routes of movement of individuals within the boundaries of amegalopolis. Such routes determine significant volumes of multimodal transportation, repeated during the working week during peak hours, so it is necessary to identify them for managerial decision-making by organisations involved in transport planning, public transport traffic administration and provision of public transportation services.
The key point of the study is to determine the logic of choosing a route through an integral assessment of its quality, which includes an assessment of the quality of not only travelling itself and of services available during transportation, but also of the quality of transport infrastructure facilities, as well as of street-and-road network facilities on real routes involved in movement of people across the urban agglomeration.
To specify complex routes, flows with general parameters for formation and selection of routes for specific groups of pedestrian and passengers, and to build models of their behaviour, the study proposes a new key object, that is a public transport user (PTU), as well as an algorithm for identifying such routes using data from cellular operators.
It is shown that the known tools for studying the structure of demand for travelling on public transport are rather ineffective. The results of a study of the quality of public transport perceived by users within Moscow urban agglomeration presented in the paper have revealed a shift in priorities in choosing a route option from more time and money saving to the best in terms of convenience and quality of public transport on the route.
The study suggests amodified model of interdependent activities that directly influence the assessment of the quality of public transport on the PTU route, as well as a model of the sensitivity of PTU to the quality of route options.

The importance of the reinforcement of the subgrade and particularly of its main platform is conditioned by the increase in train axle load.
The analysis of the results of testing of the strength and deformation characteristics of recycled ballast material during improved with binding agents with the addition of polymer stabilizers has been conducted to assess the applicability of soil consolidation technology when arranging a sub-ballast protective layer.
Laboratory testing has allowed to obtain the dependences of compressive strength and bending stretch on the percentage of Portland cement and polymer stabilizer, and to assess the decrease in material properties when exposed to an aggressive environment.
The testing has resulted in selection of optimal composition of cement and stabilizer for agiven granulometric composition of sub-ballast protective layer and allowed to reveal main advantages of the use of soil stabilizer as compared with the samples with the use of cement only.

The article presents the results of a study of the influence of the position of the end coils of the springs of the locomotive body spring suspension on their static deflection and on the parameters of the elastic transverse connection of the bogie with the body, which depends on angular movement of the end coils when a locomotive negotiates curves of different directions, to improve the dynamic qualities of the electric locomotive.
Consideration of various options for installing body springs with the method of mathematical modelling using a computeraided design software package has resulted in the rationale and description of the optimal version of the position of the end coils of the springs allowing to improve dynamic qualities of the locomotive thanks to the least resistance to bogie rotation, to the symmetry of the restoring torque and to favourable curve negotiation by locomotive thus reducing the wear rate of the flanges of the wheel tires.
It has been established that if the position of end coils is optimal, the direction of coiling of body springs does not have a significant effect on the symmetry of the restoring torque when the bogie negotiates the curves of different directions.

As the cost of traction lithium batteries decreases, many rolling stock models are being created that use them to receive recovery energy, equalise the load on the energy source, and ensure autonomous operation. The objective of the work is to show the advantages of separate design and production of onboard traction storage devices and the rolling stock using them, which will require standardisation of energy storage devices, as well as to outline the range of requirements that will need to be set when developing a standard, and to illustrate proposals by identifying possible requirements for weight, size and energy characteristics of a unified energy storage device. For this purpose, a review of approaches to the use of energy storage devices and modern designs of rolling stock on which traction batteries are used is followed by main scenarios for the use there-of.
Following identification of main processes of energy conversion by the traction drive of locomotives at various time intervals, the parameters of energy storage devices were assessed for a wide range of possible scenarios for their application using methods of traction theory.
The results obtained allowed calculating main characteristics of unified energy storage modules. A specific analysis was carried out to identify the limitations that determine energy intensity and power, weight, dimensions and method of mounting of storage devices, their rated voltage. Requirements are formulated for design of a standard mechanical, electrical and information interface of the proposed modules.

Modernisation of railway rolling stock which is quite relevant from the perspective of growing performance of railways can be achieved among other ways through improvement of features of traction drive, namely of traction electric motors, that defined the objective of the study.
The inclined shape of the rotor slots is characteristic of a proposed design of asynchronous traction electric motor with a squirrel-cage rotor winding for a passenger electric locomotive which features are subject to the analysis.
The results of experimental and computer modelling confirmed the positive effect of using a rotor with inclined slots in the design of an asynchronous traction motor, which consists in reducing the current in the windings and reducing motor power losses.
The obtained results of improving the technical features of an asynchronous traction motor due to the use of a rotor with inclined slots in its design allow expand recommendation for its use on locomotives.

Meeting the needs for transporting passengers while ensuring the appropriate level of comfort and safety are always paramount when repairing rolling stock.
The creation of automated systems to support repair and maintenance works allows systemising the repair process itself and clear and timely planning of material and production resources. Digitalisation of the production process makes it possible to achieve a coherent functionality and to link production and economic indicators together to ensure a balanced load on the repair bay, and subsequently on the entire enterprise, while development of a single digital system allows one to unlock the potential for improving the technological base.
Development of software and hardware system of «digital» repair of a wheelset is studied with object-oriented and heuristic methods The study’s subject refers to technological operations and production processes of reception and repair of a passenger coach’s wheelset. The object of the study is the process of organisation of the repair of rolling stock components at the operational stage of the life cycle. The study describes main characteristics of organisation of repair of a passenger coach’s wheelset from its reception for maintenance and defect detection to release into operation after current, medium or, respectively, major repairs. Particular attention is paid to the processes of interaction between managers and performers at each stage of repair. The novelty of the research is regarded through the application of a system approach to the use of digital technology in the production process to obtain analytical data and generate economic and production indicators. The main conclusions tend to substantiate creation of a hardware and software system of a «digital twin» of a passenger coach’s wheelset repair bay

The article considers the problem of assessing the rate of influence of the vibrational impact of high-speed rolling stock on the bearing elements of a tunnel-type buried culvert. In particular, it studies the process of formation of a directed impulse of mechanical vibrations emitted by a rail-sleeper grid under the influence of a moving, dynamic load, with the presence of a twofold phase transition between soil layers with different physical and mechanical properties. Numerical simulation was carried out in the Comsol environment in a non-stationary formulation with construction of systems of differential equations of motion and their subsequent solution using the finite element method. The study has found the wave nature of distribution of deformations and accelerations in the soil thickness with a tendency to a sharp decrease in the intensity of energy processes within the depths of 5–7 m. For sewers of considerable thickness of the lining, the structure is mostly subject to bending, while a structure with a smaller wall thickness and a larger diameter of the tunnel is subject to high longitudinal and vertical loads.

The objective of the article is to build amodel of interaction between participants in the regional air transportation market, considering the peculiarities of internal competition in Russia.
The paper discusses the main parameters of the consumer behaviour model in the regional air transportation market, suggests options for the dependencies of consumer decisions depending on the cost, geography of the route network, flight schedules and the total transportation capacity in specific directions.
Also, a model of the behaviour of the air carrier is proposed, that includes the parameters of the costs of transportation, additional costs for paying for the services of auxiliary and supporting participants. Functions are formed that describe the interaction of participants based on an effective combination of behaviour models and a possible conflict of interest.

One of the key elements affecting the capacity of the technical station with locomotive turnover points and the entire segment of railway network is an insufficient technical equipment of locomotive maintenance points (LMP), which is a «threshold» that prevents the stability of loaded trains’ traffic.
To eliminate such threshold in a particular depot and the losses associated with unproductive downtime of transiting trains, as well as to increase the efficiency of LMP operation, it is necessary to provide for a series of organisational and technical measures. Such measures may be numerous and the task to determine their priority becomes rather difficult. This complexity is explained through different significance (impact on the process) and differentiated dimensions of the criteria necessary to make decision on correct prioritisation once those criteria are compared.
The article proposes to use a special method, tested on a wide variety of practical problems, which allows selecting the best solution from the options under consideration or determining their priority (usefulness) to increase the capacity of a locomotive depot without limiting the number of decision-making criteria when considering possible organisational and technical measures.
The work proposes most promising sequence of the organisational and technical measures to be considered to improve the efficiency of LMP using the method of expert assessments based on multi-criteria assessment, which involves the information necessary to solve the problem, converting it into a dimensionless form, which allows operating the corresponding initial data regardless of their size. The transformation of information is carried out according to a deterministic algorithm and does not depend on the person that makes computations, which indicates the objectivity of the obtained result of solving the problem.
The proposed method for selecting the best option from those considered, as well as for choosing the sequence of their implementation, can also be used to solve similar problems in the absence or insufficiency of statistical data without carrying out complex economic calculations.

A feature of the digital transformation of the transport industry is the trend to increased number of cyberattacks that are among the information threats. Transport cybersecurity is a broader phenomenon compared to cyberattacks and information security. It includes organisational security and other types of security that are not found purely in the information field.
The relevance of transport cybersecurity is additionally due to the widespread use of information and computer networks and information space. Cyberspace in the transport sector can be interpreted as an aggregate of networks, information space, communication and real environment. The inclusion of real environment in transport cyberspace is a distinctive feature of transport cyberspace.
The growth of information threats occurs regardless of development of transport cyberspace. It is due to digitalisation of society, including the transport sector. Cyberspace creates the preconditions for cyberthreats of a new quality, and for new cyberthreats, previous methods of information security become ineffective. The emergence of information threats is dictated not so much by digitalisation, but rather by the openness of information and communication technology. Multimodal transportation as a relationship between many organisations also contributes to the growth of cyberthreats and a decrease in information security.
The article provides an analysis of the state and approaches used in transport cybersecurity based on the review of publications on the topic, suggests a taxonomy of threats and risks to transport cybersecurity, introduces the concepts of «railway information» and «transport information», describes the vulnerabilities of transport cyberspace.

The article is devoted to a diagnostic system for ship engines based on a wavelet neural network and image scanning using a programmable logic circuit and considers a method for analysing multifractal wavelet models.
The combination of wavelet neural networks with a programmable PLIC-based (programmable logic integrated circuit) real-time image processing platform has a significant potential for the purposes of non-destructive testing, which makes it possible to accurately diagnose faults and take effective measures for predictive maintenance, which in turn makes it possible to effectively increase safety and reliability of equipment and reduce maintenance costs.
The article proposes an improved approach to the diagnosis of ship engines, which is based on a wavelet neural network and image scanning using a programmable logic circuit. Wavelet packet decomposition is a method for local time and frequency analysis. It gradually refines the signal at multiple scales through scaling and conversion operations, and it can automatically adapt to the requirements of time-frequency signal analysis to focus on any detail of the signal. It has the advantage of good diagnostic accuracy for information with different noise levels, as well as high reliability since image data from multiple engine signals is used.

The results of analysis and comparison of the currently most common piggyback systems refer to those which are at the stages of both commercial operation and testing development. The comparison was made to determine a piggyback system that meets the requirements of the sustainable development concept and ensures the efficient functioning of supply chains.
The authors are the first to propose a multi-criteria assessment methodology (MCDM) for piggyback systems that considers the requirements of main stakeholders of the supply chain: cargo owners, carriers and infrastructure owners. The analysis of the generated multi-criteria model for evaluating piggyback systems was carried out using the methodological apparatus of DEMATEL and MARCOS. A calculated example of ranking piggyback systems is based on the interests of supply chain stakeholders. The correctness of the results obtained was checked using other MCDM methods: TOPSIS, EDAS, MABAC and WASPAS. The results of assessing sensitivity of results of ranking piggyback systems were performed under various scenarios. The Flexiwaggon, Megaswing and Rolling Road piggyback systems received the highest scores.
The proposed methodology is recommended for developing rationally based management decisions aimed at harmonising the technical and technological parameters of piggyback systems, as well as at the unification of intermodal transport units for development of sustainable supply chains.

Currently, a large volume of exports of coal and other bulk cargo to China is carried out by container method, the main advantage of which is the possibility of multimodal transportation. This issue is also relevant for other countries, linked by transport corridors with sea transportation. However, one of the main problems of container transportation of coal is reduced net weight of the cargo transported in two containers as compared to one standard gondola wagon used previously.
The study describes an integral calculation of five possible options for loading coal into a container with formation of a «cap» in the form of spherical or elliptical segments. As a result of the calculations, volumetric and mass underload of containers was identified, which significantly affects transportation costs. A polynomial approximation of the considered options for placing coal in containers on railway flat wagons within a train showed an increase in operating costs due to underloading associated with the downtime of the flat wagon and container under cargo operations (loading/unloading) and transportation tariffs. Proposals have been made to reduce transport costs for container transportation of coal and other bulk cargo by rail.

The article of the graduate of the MIIT University, now bearing the name of Russian University of Transport is dedicated to many generations of Kazakhstanis, who graduated from the University, their professional achievements, and to contemporary forms of cooperation contributing to the development of new generations of transport employees of Russia and Kazakhstan.

Exactly 140 years ago, the most famous, in our opinion, work by Sergei Yu. Witte «Principles of railway tariffs for transportation of goods» was first published. It is difficult to overestimate the importance of this book. Our regular author, a well-known scientist, D. Sc. (Engineering), Academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences Dmitry Levin, decided to share his thoughts after a new reading of this work, which has not yet lost its relevance. The encyclopaedic views of S. Yu. Witte may be of interest both to economists and to sociologists, philosophers, scientists, and specialists in the theory of public administration. Many of S. Yu. Witte’s judgments have not lost their scientific, theoretical and practical significance to this day and in this sense turned out to be prophetic. They also regard the competition of rail transport with water and land transport (then it was horse-drawn haulage, but now it can be easily substituted in the judgments with road transport), the need for a clear correlation of any economic models with national interests, the requirements of a particular historical stage, the harmfulness of blind use of schemes borrowed from outside without considering the socio-political and economic context.
The methodology for constructing prices for transportation of goods, set out by S. Yu. Witte is not only of historical interest (especially in conjunction with the reviews and discussions that accompanied the appearance of his book), but remains important for the modern solution of newly arising issues of improving the tariff system under market transition. Not least of all, the methodology is connected with the cardinal question that arose even then: whether railways should be a natural monopoly or a commercial structure –a debate that continues today.
This issue publishes the second, final part of the article, which contains the author’s own conclusions and proposals regarding the possible transformation of S. Y. Witte’s ideas regarding solution of modern transport and tariff problems.

Shubinsky, I. B., Rozenberg, E. N. Functional Safety of Railway Control Systems. Monograph. Moscow, Vologda, Infra-Inzheneria publ., 2023, 360 p. ISBN 978-5-9729-1553-8.

Ensuring safety is one of the main conditions for existence of humanity. Therefore, the concept of «safety» is the focus of attention in various fields of activity, ranging from agriculture, medicine through space. At the same time, the interpretation of the concept of «safety» is still ambiguous. The theory and practice of «functional safety» are currently most developed in the nuclear industry and railway transport. In railway transport, a series of European (CEN), international (IEC), interstate (GOST), national (GOST R) standards have been developed in the field of functional safety. They focus mainly on hardware and software control systems.
The monograph by Igor Shubinsky and Efim Rozenberg «Functional Safety of Railway Control Systems» presents a wide range of issues of functional safety – from scientific foundations (concepts, postulates, principles) to methods and techniques for ensuring the safety of hardware and software of railway control systems, including advanced methods of ensuring safety using virtual channels and digital twins.
The monograph is of interest to researchers, railway industry specialists engaged in management processes, academic staff, graduate students and students of railway transport universities. It may be useful to scientists and specialists in other fields of industry and transport related to problems of functional safety and reliability of control systems and objects.