Tyazhelovesnoe_dvizhenie_D212

1. Heavy haul traffic in Russia and in the world: Problems, technical and digital innovations in the railway transport

Siberian State Transport University
Kurtasov E.V.
Group D-212
Novosibirsk,
2026
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2. Urgency

• Reducing
transportation costs
via heavy-haul traffic
without new
infrastructure
construction.
Fig.1 Heavy-haul
train
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3. Purpose and tasks

Purpose:
• To identify the most
universal technical
and digital solutions
addressed the problems
of heavy-haul traffic
in Russia and in the
world.
Tasks:
• To define concept and
economic efficiency of
heavy-haul traffic
• To identify key
problems of heavy-haul
traffic
• To compare technical
and digital solutions
addressed the problems
of heavy-haul traffic
in Russia and in the
3

4. Contents:

1) Introduction
2) Heavy-haul traffic features of the movement
organization, the historical development and
economic efficiency
3) Problems of heavy haul traffic now:
3.1) Requirement and restrictions for rolling stock
3.2) Impact of heavy-haul traffic on infrastructure
4) Technical solutions addressed the problems of
heavy-haul traffic in Russia and in the world
5) Digital solutions addressed the problems of
heavy-haul traffic in Russia and in the world
6) Conclusion
4

5. Heavy-haul traffic features of the movement organization, the historical development and economic efficiency

• Heavy-haul trains have
total weight far above
standard norms.
• History: started on
coal and iron ore
routes in 1920-1930s.
• Efficiency: fewer
trains = lower cost
per ton.
Fig.2 Heavy-haul train on
coal route in 1920s
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6. Problems of heavy haul traffic now:

• Rolling stock: rapid wear
and breakage of couplers,
bogies, wheels.
• Infrastructure: track and
structure damage from
high axle loads.
Fig.5 breakage of coupler
Fig.3 breakage of track
Fig.4 breakage of wheels
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7. Technical solutions addressed the problems of heavy-haul traffic in Russia and in the world

Aspect
World (USA, Europe, China)
Russia
Digital Automatic Coupler
DAC (Europe) – integration
of power and data buses,
train integrity control
Modernized coupler SA-3T –
increased strength and
service life, without digital
components
Bogies and
running gear
TrakMaster (USA) – reduced
flange wear; Mechanical
suspension bogie (China)
18-9855 and 18-9891– axle
load of 25 tons, reduced
dynamic loads, service life
up to 32 years
Alloys for
creating wheels
Bainitic steel (China) –
yield strength 950 MPa,
hardness 415 HV
No direct innovations
mentioned in the text;
traditional steels are used
Testing up to 40 tons per
axle (China); automatic
Unified Weight and Dimension
Control System (since 2026);
Coupling devices
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8. Digital solutions addressed the problems of heavy-haul traffic in Russia and in the world

Aspect
World (USA, Europe)
Russia
Rolling stock
monitoring
RailPulse (cloud platform,
data aggregation from
sensors); WaggonTracker
(automatic brake testing)
Elga-Trans digital
platform (telemetry,
satellite communication,
20% performance increase)
Infrastructure
management
Predictive analytics and
artificial intelligence
(AI) for asset allocation;
automatic track geometry
measurement
"Digital Railway"; Unified
Weight and Dimension
Control System
Document flow
and operations
AI-based wagon recognition
AI for document analysis
(Delo Group, 80%
acceleration); "Green
Corridor" system
Coupling with
data integration
DAC (E-coupler standard,
trials from 2026)
Not available
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9. Conclusion

• Concept and economic efficiency of
heavy-haul traffic was defined
• Key problems of heavy-haul traffic
were identified
• Technical and digital solutions
addressed the problems of heavy-haul
traffic in Russia and in the world
were compared
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10. References

• Здмира новости. Некоторые итоги 2024 года –
инновации в грузовом движении //
https://zdmira.com/news/nekotorye-itogi-2024goda-innovatsii-v-gruzovomdvizhenii?ysclid=mmppenaj25701247516 (дата
обращения 23.03.26)
• Покровская О.Д., Шугаев О.В. Опыт и перспективы
развития тяжеловесного движения // International
Journal of Advanced Studies. 2024. Т. 14, № 4. С.
185-198. DOI: 10.12731/2227930X-2024-14-4-327//
https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/opyt-iperspektivy-razvitiya-tyazhelovesnogodvizheniya/viewer (дата обращения 23.03.26)
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11. Thank you for your attention