On 24 September the international conference “Railway Engineering: Partnership of 1520 and 1435 Rail Gauge Manufacturers” was held in Berlin. The conference was attended by representatives of transport companies, infrastructure managers and rolling stock operators. The RZD delegation was led by the company’s Senior Vice-President Valentin Gapanovich.
Speaking during a round table on “Knowledge-based engineering of 1520 and 1435: Conditions for highly effective cooperation”, Valentin Gapanovich spoke about RZD’s key innovation development projects, including those conducted in collaboration with foreign partners.
According to him, RZD is placing particular emphasis on the harmonisation of Russian and non-Russian technical standards. Projects have been implemented to create new models of rolling stock and infrastructure components.
Work is being undertaken to equip locomotives with auto-driving systems and to develop freight operations in accordance with a pre-established schedule. Implementing smooth train operations and energy-efficient systems will save 15 million kWh of electricity per month.
RZD continues the controlled operation of turbo-charged diesel and gas-fuelled locomotives which have proven to have exceptionally high tractive effort. Moreover, the amount of hazardous waste released when these engines are in operation is several times lower than that which is set out in the Euro-5 emissions regulations.
The company RZD, in partnership with its European collaborators, continues to introduce innovative infrastructure features along its network. Many of these solutions were used to build the railway infrastructure in Sochi, and there are plans to implement them in the upgrade of the BAM and Trans-Siberian railway lines.
According to Valentin Gapanovich, the company is developing technology to measure the condition of railway infrastructure. In accordance with the agreement jointly signed by RZD, Siemens and INFOTRANS, for the first time in the world a project to control journeys has been put online for Sapsan high speed trains. These trains will be equipped with a range of systems to measure 100 different rail infrastructure parameters during the journey, and at speeds of up to 250 km/hour.
(Source: RZD)
