The paper considers development of transport in the context of primary and secondary modernisation. Mutual influence of transport activities and most important aspects of every phase of modernisation is determined. Challenges to the transport system that appear in the course of deepening modernisation and the possible responses to these challenges are identified. Conclusion is reached regarding the need for conducting empirical studies into mutual connection of modernisation and development of transport, and basic outlines or such studies are defined.

The paper presents an analysis of methodology of international university ratings. A definition, an evaluation of connection between the position of Russian universities in the ratings and such key indicators as the share of the organisation’s income from all sources per one student and average number of students per one educational and research employee, and modelling of positions of transport universities in international institutional ratings (in case entrance criteria are met) are provided. For data analysis, functions in the shape of a linear additive model and a non-linear multiplicative model were formulated. The results obtained allow for the conclusion that a high degree of interdependence exists between the aforementioned variables: the position in the rating is the higher the higher is the income per one student and the lower the student to educational and research employee ratio. Results of application of expert evaluations also make significant influence on the force of correlational relationship and the final place of a university in international ratings. With the current income base and the student to educational and research employee ratio have low chances of entering the lists of the world’s top 500 best educational organisations.

The paper considers the problem of developing a transport service system for remote territories on the example of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. The objective of the study is to determine a method for selecting an optimum option for delivery of cargoes from mine fields in the remote territories to an outside transport junction, considering spending in development of transport infrastructure and expenditure on cargo delivery. In the process of analysis of the region’s special features, several limiting factors impacting managerial decisions and increasing investment and operational costs were identified. Recommendations for managerial decisions in organisation of transport services in remote territories were provided, and a list of costs was provided for comparing the options for providing transport services to remote territories and selecting the optimal option proceeding from multi-criteria analysis.

The paper describes main approaches to evaluation of operation costs of maritime vessels and the cost of transportation of a unit of cargo. Budgetary structure of constant and variable costs is analysed. The considered methods of evaluation at different stages of development of a project are compared.

The paper presents an evaluation of safety levels of aircraft (and transport system) operation based on indices of risk of occurring dangerous situations conditioned by breaching operation standards and disturbances of various types. Safety management is formed for structures and system states defined in fuzzy sets based on the ‘catastrophe equation’ in the form of a combination of logical conditions for occurring of dangerous scenarios (events) as the system loses functionality qualities.

The paper considers the problem of expanding the knowledge area regarding the factors impacting the level of traffic safety being ensured which are outside the field of vision of responsible officials. Such factors include levels of performance attributes of motor-cars’ preventive safety automated systems, considering their high social importance. The paper provides a definition of functionally obligatory key terms for the subject being studied, a justification for the necessity of an algorithmic form of presenting the processes of functioning of aforementioned systems and its implementation. An algorithmic (structural-functional) mathematical model of a system of organisational management of operation in control of technical state of systems being studied and the mechanisms of forming the indices of its performance attributes are provided.

The paper considers the issues of testing highly automated vehicles in confined environment for minimum functionality, which ensures permitting the car to undertake expanded testing in public roads. Checking highly automated vehicles’ functional safety with the help of testing during conducting technological competitions is described.

The authors consider some problems in registering the fleet of lorries and cargo-carrying motor vehicles, make proposals for perfecting these indices in cargo motor transport and for increasing the sphere of application of the Platon system in the road network of the Russian Federation.

Logistics of railway field operation studies disruptions and risks occurring in the transportation process and develops mechanisms of fighting against them. The first part of the paper was published in the Transport of the Russian Federation issue 1-2 (92-93). The second part presents an extended analysis of infrastructural shortcomings, recommendations for managing train formation and budgeting transportation process.

The paper describes conceptual principles of connection of technical testing and monitoring systems with train movement control systems as regards the implementation of the barrier function, which is aimed at perfecting approaches to ensuring safety of transportation process. It is shown that railway automatics and telemechanics systems cannot ensure safety upon reaching limit states of railway infrastructure objects with which they do not directly interact. It is proposed to carry out automatic connection of systems with the objective of transferring information regarding speed limits during the passage of a testing and monitoring object (through to full stop) to the train dispatcher and the engine driver, which would require perfecting the principles of building railway infrastructure objects technical testing and monitoring systems and modernization of regulatory framework.

In the process of development of a method for improved determination of aerodynamic resistance to movement of trains comprised of open-top wagons of various types, speed trajectories of air currents, values of pressure and force of aerodynamic resistance of the train, locomotive, loaded and empty open-top wagons were obtained in the ANSYS Workbench software suite (Fluent module). Comparative analysis of calculation and experimental data was conducted. Improved calculation of resistance to cargo train movement using digital simulation will permit for better forecasting of power and fuel consumption for train traction, as well as create new power-efficient designs.

The paper presents results of simulation of lateral and side wear of rails depending of the curve radius and rail superelevation. Considering that rail wear depends on multiple factors, the term ‘basic intensity of wear’ is introduced, meaning the wear for a concrete category of rails from the impact of a cargo wagon at equilibrium velocity of movement. Nomograms of lateral and side wear of rails depending on the curve radius and rail superelevation are presented. Intensity levels of lateral and side wear of rails from undischarged acceleration are produced. It is shown that changes in the intensity of side wear of rails have polynomial dependency which monotonically increases with the growth of undischarged acceleration. Intensities of lateral wear of exterior and inner rails have mutually increasing and diminishing dependencies described by square polynomes. In case of increase in the values of undischarged acceleration, the wear of external rail increases whilst simultaneously inner rail wear decreases.