The transport network of the Russian Federation is one of the world's most extensive transport networks. The national web of roads, railways and airways stretches almost 7,700 km (4,800 mi) from Kaliningrad in the west to the Kamchatka Peninsula in the east, and major cities such as Moscow and Saint Petersburg are served by extensive rapid transit systems.
Railway electrification is the use of electric power for the propulsion of rail transport. Electric railways use either electric locomotives, electric multiple units or both. Electricity is typically generated in large and relatively efficient generating stations, transmitted to the railway network and distributed to the trains. Some electric railways have their own dedicated generating stations and transmission lines, but most purchase power from an electric utility. The railway usually provides its own distribution lines, switches, and transformers.
HS4000 Kestrel was a prototype high-powered mainline diesel locomotive that was built in 1967 by Brush Traction, Loughborough, as a technology demonstrator for potential future British Rail and export orders. The locomotive number is a combination of the initials of Hawker Siddeley and the power rating of its Sulzer diesel engine (4,000 hp), making it the most powerful locomotive built by the company.
With railways, a break of gauge occurs where a line of one track gauge meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock generally cannot run through without some form of conversion between gauges, leading to passengers having to change trains and freight requiring transloading or transshipping; this can add delays, costs, and inconvenience to travel on such a route.
Rail transport in Romania goes back to the Austrian Empire, when in 1857 the line between Timișoara and Szeged opened. The first railway line on territory of the Kingdom of Romania opened in 1869. It linked Bucharest and Giurgiu. Electrification of the Romanian railway network was expedited during the 1950s and 1960s while the country was under a communist regime.
Rail freight transport is the use of railways and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers.
The Islamic Republic of Iran Railways is the national state-owned railway system of Iran. The Raja Passenger Train Company is an associate of the IR, and manages its passenger trains. The Railway Transportation Company is an associate of the IR, which manages its freight transport. The Ministry of Roads & Urban Development is the state agency that oversees the IRIR. Some 33 million tonnes of goods and 29 million passengers are transported annually by the rail transportation network, accounting for 9 percent and 11 percent of all transportation in Iran, respectively (2011).
Railways with a railway track gauge of 5 ft first appeared in the United Kingdom and the United States. This gauge became commonly known as "Russian gauge", because the government of the Russian Empire chose it in 1843. Former areas and states of the Empire have inherited this standard. However in 1970, Soviet Railways re-defined the gauge as 1,520 mm.
Russian Railways is a Russian fully state-owned vertically integrated railway company, both managing infrastructure and operating freight and passenger train services.
Rail transport in Ukraine is a major transport mode in Ukraine. Most railway infrastructure in Ukraine is owned by the government of Ukraine through Ukrzaliznytsia, a joint-stock company which has a de facto country-wide monopoly on passenger and freight transport by rail.
The rail transport system in Estonia consists of about 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) of railway lines, of which 900 kilometres (560 mi) are currently in public use. The infrastructure of the railway network is mostly owned by the state and is regulated and surveyed by the Estonian Technical Surveillance Authority.
Bogie exchange is a system for operating railway wagons on two or more gauges to overcome difference in the track gauge. To perform a bogie exchange, a car is converted from one gauge to another by removing the bogies or trucks, and installing a new bogie with differently spaced wheels. It is generally limited to wagons and carriages, though the bogies on diesel locomotives can be exchanged if enough time is available.
Rail transport in Europe has diverse technological standards, operating concepts, and infrastructures. Common features are the widespread use of standard-gauge rail, high operational safety and a high proportion of electrification. Electrified railway networks in Europe operate at many different voltages, both AC and DC, varying from 750 to 25,000 volts, and signaling systems vary from country to country, complicating cross-border traffic.
The Soviet Union was heavily dependent on rail transport, not least during the Russian Civil War and World War II, but also for industrialization according to the five-year plans.
Russia was and is the largest country in the world. Its geography of north–south rivers and east–west commerce, plus, importantly, the mostly flat terrain, made it very suited to develop railroads as the basic mode of transportation.
The 2TE70 is a Russian main line dual unit freight diesel locomotive, rated at 5,884 kW (7,891 hp). It has AC/DC transmission and individual axle traction control and is designed to haul freight trains on the Russian Federation lines RŽD with 1,520 mmRussian gauge. The 2ТE70 Freight diesel locomotive with two six-axle sections shares main parts with the TEP70 and TEP70BS passenger diesel locomotives. Each section is rated at 2,964 kW (3,975 hp) and it is designed for running freight trains of up to 6,000 t.
While the former Soviet Union got a late start with rail electrification in 1926 it eventually became the world leader in electrification in terms of the volume of traffic under the wires. During its last 30 years the Soviet Union hauled about as much rail freight as all the other countries in the world combined and in the end, over 60% of this was by electric locomotives. Electrification was cost effective due to the very high density of traffic and was at times projected to yield at least a 10% return on electrification investment. By 1990, the electrification was about half 3 kV DC and half 25 kV AC 50 Hz and 70% of rail passenger-km was by electric railways.
The Imperial Russian narrow railway track gauge was 3 ft 6 in, the current track gauge is predominantly 750 mm. In Soviet Russia, narrow-gauge railways were mostly common in forestry and peat industries in low inhabited places. Usually they have one main line and number of temporary branches. There was commonly a passenger service to villages and towns for workers.
The Vanino–Kholmsk train ferry is the ferry connection across the Strait of Tartary in Russia that connects Vanino in Khabarovsk Krai and Kholmsk in Sakhalin Oblast. This ferry connects Sakhalin Island with mainland Russia; its distance is 260 km. It is operated by Sakhalin Shipping Company.
Gennady Matveyevich Fadeyev is a Russian railway executive who has been advisor to the General Director of Russian Railways since 2015. Fadeyev was the first president of Russian Railways, and was Minister of Railways from 1992 to 1996 and from 2002 to 2003. He is a Full Cavalier of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" and an Honored Transport Worker of Russia.
