Rail freight transportation as a factor in sustainable development of the Siberian region: analysis and assessment

   The relevance of the study is due to the fact that at present the work of railways continues to play a key role in the economy of the country, especially the eastern regions of Russia. By means of railways, various groups of goods are moved, especially those that are formed as a result of the activities of extractive industries and industries, specialized, among other things, for the Siberian region. The purpose of the study was to describe the territorial, demographic, transport indicators of the subjects, the location of which is determined by the boundaries of the Siberian Federal District, and the railways – West Siberian, Krasnoyarsk, East Siberian – have a direct impact on their growth, economic development and regional integration. The object of the study was freight rail transportation and ‘cargo-forming’ enterprises of the region under study. The subject of the study is the analysis of the current level of economic development of the region and its assessment from the standpoint of sustainability and prospects for further development of freight traffic in terms of loading products of mining, agricultural and logging enterprises.
   The analysis showed that the overall contribution of the Siberian region to the gross regional product of the country is 9.3 %. At the same time, the contribution of the mining complex, which forms the main loading, is about 14.0 %. Together with grain and timber cargo, the total share in loading is 24.0 %. Calculations have shown that from the standpoint of sustainable development, it is these industries, which determine the total freight mass in rail transportation, that are able to influence and determine the prospects for regional freight work on the road network of the Siberian region. Other ‘freight-forming’ industries – groups of manufacturing industries, construction, trade, etc. – within the region still have much to do to expand the range of their products, the scope of their purpose and application, thereby contributing to sustainable economic development. That is, in the context of regional loading, to create a sufficient freight mass to expand the range of transported groups of goods, creating conditions for ensuring sustainable development.

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