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.

   The strategy for the scientific and technological development of the Russian Railways Holding Company for the period up to 2025 and for the period up to 2030 includes the development and implementation of technologies and devices for noise reduction and active noise suppression in areas adjacent to railway transport.
   At railway transport enterprises, one of the sources of extremely high noise levels is car retarders. Active noise reduction measures have not yet been sufficiently developed for use in open areas. So far, acoustic baffles have been the only effective noise reduction measures that do not affect the safety or speed of the train unloading process.
   As a result of measurements carried out in the marshalling yard area, spectral noise levels, equivalent and maximum noise levels were obtained during the unbraking of unhitched wagons by claw-shaped wagon retarders. The measured noise levels exceed the permissible values both on the territory of the station and on the territory of the nearest residential area. The exceedance was established even in the presence of an acoustic screen. The acoustic screen, although not reducing noise levels to permissible values, has improved living conditions. The grouping of peak values of sound levels at frequencies of 2000 and 4000 Hz was noted, and the generation of high noise levels is not always related to the mass of the braked detachment.
   On the basis of the analysis of marshalling yards and measurement results, the principal calculation schemes for the calculation of noise attenuation from wagon retarders and options for selecting the combination of protection means are presented. The results of calculations of noise attenuation at the design point in the residential area show the need to adjust the calculation, because at some frequencies the results significantly exceed the standard calculation accuracy of ±3 dB.

   Small-radius curves, as an element of the track infrastructure, have a negative impact on the stable progress of train traffic due to a significant increase in the number of train speed warnings issued and failures of technical means. This has a particularly critical impact on the capacity of the Eastern Landfill. Small-radius curves are also a source of increased wear and tear on both the elements of the track's upper structure and rolling stock. Here, much more often, in comparison with sites that do not have an unfavorable plan, work is carried out not only to replace severely defective rails, but also to continuously change the weaves of the seamless track. The work is also accompanied by the issuance of restrictions on reducing the speed of movement. In addition, small-radius curves create prerequisites for emergency situations. Increased dynamic loads on rolling stock and infrastructure increase the risk of derailment. And in conditions of difficult terrain and climatic features of the Eastern landfill (large temperature differences, areas of permafrost), these problems are aggravated. If there is a need for a larger staff of qualified labour, the demographic situation in the Trans-Baikal Territory and the Amur Region remains difficult at present.
   In this paper, an analysis of the operational performance of sections with similar tonnage parameters, but different in length of small-radius curves, was carried out to determine the actual reliability coefficient of transport services for a section with small-radius curves to assess the potential for further capacity growth. The analysis of the current technical condition and operational features of the railway track on the Erofey Pavlovich – Bolshaya Omutnaya section confirms that in the conditions of further growth in transportation volumes, an increase in the number of heavy and long trains, this section will become a bottleneck in ensuring the necessary parameters of the throughput of the Trans-Siberian Railway.
   Based on the results of the analysis, an economic assessment of the work effectiveness to change the routing of the section with unfavourable conditions was carried out due to the possible elimination of small-radius curves, including by reducing the operational length of the Erofey Pavlovich – Bolshaya Omutnaya section.

   The process of thermostabilization of thawed permafrost soils using seasonally-operating cooling devices can take a significant amount of time (up to several years). In certain soil and hydrological conditions, this leads to frost heaving of the subgrade foundation with a fairly long period of heave manifestation on the railway track.
   This paper describes a large-scale laboratory experiment conducted to model the thermostabilization of soils with seasonally-operating cooling devices. The purpose was to determine the empirical relationships between the magnitude of frost heaving in clay soils and their type and freezing rate.
   The experiment results show significant frost heaving of the soil mass during its thermostabilization by seasonal cooling devices. An empirical relationship was obtained for the volumetric frost heaving coefficient of clay soils with a plasticity index from 5 to 14, as a function of the radial freezing rate near the cooling device. This relationship is recommended for use in designing the thermostabilization of railway subgrade foundations in permafrost regions to quantitatively assess potential subsequent frost heaving deformations and to adopt compensating design solutions.

   This study introduces a methodology for identifying critical nodes within the metropolitan transport network by employing a composite metric that integrates multiple measures of graph centrality. The primary objective is to determine the most significant elements of urban transport infrastructure and to evaluate their impact on the overall resilience of the system under disruptive conditions. The road network graph was constructed using the OSMnx library and OpenStreetMap data, filtered to include only automobile roads, which ensured an accurate representation of the city’s street network.
   The analysis is based on several classical centrality indicators, including betweenness centrality, degree centrality, closeness centrality, harmonic centrality, and load centrality. All measures were normalized to a common scale to enable comparability. A composite centrality metric was then proposed, defined as the mean of the normalized values, which provides an integrated assessment of both the topological and functional properties of network nodes.
   To validate the proposed approach, simulation experiments were conducted, incorporating scenarios of edge weight increase to emulate traffic congestion as well as the complete removal of selected nodes. The findings demonstrate that betweenness centrality remains the most influential factor in identifying critical nodes; however, the composite metric yields a more balanced and robust evaluation. Moreover, the removal of critical nodes was shown to significantly increase the average shortest path length, thereby highlighting the vulnerability of the transport system and underscoring the necessity of prioritizing these elements in urban planning, infrastructure development, and resilience strategies.

   Modern trends of increasing the weight and length of freight trains impose significant loads on railway infrastructure, leading to an imbalance between growing traffic volumes and station capacity. Handling trains whose length exceeds the standard useful length of receiving-departure tracks increases the occupancy of switching zone elements, receiving-departure and connecting tracks, and leads to an increase in the volume of shunting work for repositioning parts of trains that do not fit within the tracks. These negative effects significantly depend on both train parameters (train length, number of cars) and the design features of a particular station. For instance, accurately determining the additional occupancy of switching zones and receiving-departure tracks requires considering the track layout design, the availability of parallel moves and alternative routes, and the sectionalization of yards. The lengths of receiving, departing, and shunting movement routes, as well as the location of insulation joints and boundaries of insulated switching sections, are also significant. Furthermore, the dynamics of train movement during reception and departure, which affects the duration of occupancy of various yard and switching zone elements, is important. This dynamics depends not only on the route length (as in the classical methodology for calculating switching zone load) but also on other factors, including track plan and profile, and speed restrictions. Ensuring accurate assessment of the impact of operating non-standard length trains, considering the above, requires improved methods for modeling the operation of switching zones and yards.
   This article proposes a new methodology for assessing the load on station track development elements. Its core is a comprehensive model that includes a simulation model of switching zone operations implementing a resource-based approach to element occupancy, coupled with a database containing coordinate-based representations of travel time curves for transportation units referenced to insulated section boundaries.
   The resource-based approach in the simulation model implies that each infrastructure object (switches, tracks, etc.) is considered a separate resource, whose occupancy is defined by time intervals. The method is implemented using simulation modeling in the AnyLogic environment, which simplifies calculations and enhances the accuracy of capacity assessment. The coordinate-based representation of travel time curves is proposed to be generated based on an autonomous simulation model for traction and braking calculations. Particular attention is paid to automating the calculation of switching zone occupancy times using piece-wise linear approximation of train travel time curves.

   The problem of numerical modeling of the stress-strain state of a soil structure taking into account seismic impact is considered. Justification of the choice of a soil model that ensures correct modeling of seismic impact on a railway embankment for the subsequent development of measures to increase the seismic resistance of the subgrade by using damping layer.
   Based on the analysis of the graphs of the dependence of axial deformation on the stress deviator,the main differences between some soil models (linear elastic, Mohr-Coulomb, hardening soil and hardening soil with stiffness at small deformations) and the features of their operation under dynamic cyclic impact are analyzed. The stress-strain state of a railway roadbed in the form of a 15 m high embankment made of medium-sized sand was simulated during seismic impacts of varying intensity.
   The finite element method is used to simulate standard stabilometric and compression tests to analyze the dependence of axial deformations on stresses. The obtained calculation graphs are assessed for compliance with theoretical curves and laboratory test data.
   The difference in the results of calculations of the stress-strain state of the medium-sized sand embankment in the considered models was established according to the following criteria: displacement of the subgrade surface, stress in the zone of formation of the sliding surface.
   It was proven that the soil model with stiffness at small deformations is the most suitable among considered for studying the influence of seismic action on the subgrade stress-strain state.

   The article considers the condition of rails that have missed the standard tonnage in the metro. The actual condition of rails has been assessed by means of in-situ inspection and diagnostics using non-destructive testing methods. The most widespread defects were defects of the first group – metal pitting and delaminations, the parameters of which turned out to be acceptable for further operation.
   Based on the results of the analysis of materials provided by metro and the application of the methodology of repair assignment by ‘Russian Railways’, dependencies were obtained that describe the occurrence of defects and failures from missed tonnage. Defectivity was excluded from the evaluation factors due to insignificant influence on the assignment of continuous rail change. In turn, single rail failures influenced the determination of the rail end of life, which will occur no earlier than 10 years from the date of the study.
   To verify the reliability of the obtained results, the reliability of rails in the metro railway was evaluated. In the calculation of operating time, the operating condition was corrected, thus the application of the methodology based on the reliability theory became possible in relation to the metro conditions.
   By means of the calculation it was possible to determine the probability of failure-free operation and the probability of failure. The obtained result confirmed the possibility of increasing the service life of rails in metro. When comparing the average life of rails for the current year of operation and for the forecast one (in 10 years from the date of the study), this value increased significantly.
   The approach based on the joint use of ‘Russian Railways’ normative documents and reliability theory with necessary adjustments taking into account the conditions of rail operation in the metro is proposed.

    The article provides an overview of existing theoretical and experimental studies and approaches to strengthening the structure of a railway track. Modern trends in the design and construction of a railway track are characterized by the desire to ensure the strength and reliability of the structure.
    The purpose of a new parameter for increasing the temperature of a continuously welded rails in the presence of a braking factor for trains pulled by modern and prospective locomotives is substantiated. It is noted that insufficient attention is currently paid to the temperature operation of a continuously welded track as the main track structure on the Russian railway network, especially under difficult operating conditions, taking into account the excessive longitudinal forces that arise during intensive electrodynamic braking of full-load and long-unit trains pulled by modern heavy multi-section locomotives.
    The condition for the stability of a continuously welded track is formulated taking into account the braking factor of trains.The methodology for designing track reinforcement in the presence of a braking factor is improved. The existing track reinforcement options are systematized; an extensive-intensive approach to choosing reinforcement options is proposed. When designing and subsequently implementing a continuously welded track strengthening option, it is recommended to use algorithms that integrate expert opinions, theoretical research data and field tests in order to assign the best option, taking into account the train braking factor when calculating the track according to critical parameters, as one of the most unfavorable types of external impact on the track. An algorithm is proposed for assigning a continuously welded track strengthening option taking into account the train braking factor.
    Recommendations are given for including the results of this study in regulatory documentation governing the design, construction and operation of continuously welded track.

   The purpose of this work is to develop a method for rejecting semiconductor wafers based on determining their relief. Optical research methods based on the moiré effect are widely used to study the relief of various bodies, but the sensitivity of traditional moiré methods is low for assessing the quality of semiconductor wafers. For this purpose, it is proposed to use the shadow moire method using high-frequency rasters. In this case, it is not correct to describe the pattern of the recorded fringes based on the postulates of “mechanical” interference used in traditional moiré.
   The article presents the derivation of resolving equations for patterns of fringes observed in the first order of diffraction, based on the laws of diffraction when optical fibers pass through a reference raster and their further interference after reflection from the surface under study. When deriving the equations, it was assumed that the position of the observed bands is determined by the interference of waves diffracted into the zero and first orders of diffraction during the first and second passage of the reference raster. The results of a study of the relief of flint wafers with various defects are presented. The diameter of the plates under study was 60 mm, and a reference raster with a frequency of 200 lines per millimeter was used. In the optical scheme used for recording moiré patterns, a He-Ne laser LG-38 was used. Diagrams of the relief of the plates in selected sections based on the relief of their surface are presented.
   The conducted studies showed that the proposed method allows for preliminary rejection of plates. The dimensions of the semiconductor wafers under study are limited by the dimensions of the optical circuit elements used.

   The general set of measures for the operation of buildings implies ensuring the preservation of the facade appearance, including the absence of cracks, delamination and crumbling of plaster, chips, potholes and other mechanical damage on the building facade. The paper contains studies aimed at optimizing the technological cycles of plastering work carried out during the repair of building facades for various purposes. Laboratory and field studies have shown that the use of new innovative methods can improve the quality of repair work regardless of weather conditions.
   To conduct the research, a test program was developed based on existing standards, modern devices manufactured by OWEN were used, with the help of which the electrophysical parameters of infrared heating elements, temperature parameters of the plaster solution and its mechanical properties were monitored. The change in the physical properties of plaster materials was studied, namely the amount of formation of various defects depending on the impact of climatic factors on the hardening process of the plaster mix, the impact of climatic factors on the finished plaster coating, as well as the effect of the chemical composition of water on the quality of the plaster mix.
   The experiments showed that the use of infrared heating elements with a heat-insulating layer can create a favorable climatic environment with minimal time and material costs, in which the production of facade works will be carried out with high quality regardless of weather conditions. Using the developed infrared heating elements, it is possible to manufacture mobile, portable structures that allow for high quality repair work and a reduction in the cost of work.