OREANDA-NEWS. March 23, 2012. The II International Forum "Transportation Science: Innovative Solutions for Business" has opened in Moscow. "Its work will become an important stage in the integration of Russian and international rail science," said Vadim Morozov, First Vice-President Russian Railways, at the opening ceremony, reported the press-centre of RZD.

The main issue discussed on the first day was the practical application of scientific advances to increase the effectiveness of rail transport.

"Russian Railways has already implemented many innovative solutions in areas like informatising the transportation process, managing the quality of services, monitoring the condition of stock, plant and equipment and the production processes," said Vadim Morozov. "Together with Russia’s leaders in railway engineering, the Company has made significant progress in creating new rolling stock, including electric passenger locomotives and mainline and shunting locomotives, and has launched a programme to revive Russian diesel engine construction."

At the same time, the volume of investments in brand new equipment and technology is increasing every year, and the Company plans to find more than 850 billion roubles between 2011 and 2015 for this purpose, including more than 50 billion roubles for development. Russian Railways is one of the few Russian companies whose investment in research and development corresponds to the average global level for its sector.

Automated control systems for transportation and wagon fleets, based on modern information technologies and communication systems, are undergoing dynamic development. By the beginning of 2012, Russian Railways operated more than 14,200 units of rolling stock equipped with satellite navigation devices on the rail network, over 36% of the total.

To improve the efficiency of the infrastructure, the Company will be developing logistics technologies and increasing the containerisation of cargo flows.

Valentin Gapanovich, Senior Vice-President at Russian Railways, also addressed the Forum, saying that "by developing its own innovative technology, Russian Railways is stimulating the development of key industries in Russia."

The participants at the Forum noted that as the country’s main transport system, the rail system was faced with very ambitious targets to cope with the growing volume of traffic and providing transport services to ensure Russia’s economic growth.

According to Boris Lapidus, Managing Director of VNIIZhT (Scientific and Research Institute for Rail Transport), about 30% of main lines, which handle more than 80% of all freight, had in fact already exhausted their reserve capacity.

To solve this problem, cardinal improvements to the reliability of the infrastructure and the productivity of the rolling stock are planned. In particular, the introduction of the innovative 2ES10 electric locomotive will, for the first time in the history of Russia’s railways, enable trains weighing up to 7,000 tons to be hauled through the Ural Mountains. In addition, domestic manufacturers have developed and certified a number of innovative heavy-duty freight wagons with a low life-cycle cost and increased mileage between servicing.

Very significant capital and strategic challenges still have to be addressed with regard to modernisation and the development of infrastructure. According to the Development Strategy for Railway Transport, by 2030 more than 13,800 km of track will be designated for heavy-duty trains.