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Railway transport, which originated in the era of the industrial revolution, remained the main mode of transport throughout the 19th and the first half of the 20th century.
The first steam-powered railway was the Liverpool-Manchester line in England, opened in 1830. In the same year, the first railway in the United States was built, connecting the cities of Charleston and Augusta. In 1833, the first railway appeared in France, in 1835 - in Germany and Belgium. And in Russia, the first railway St. Petersburg - Tsarskoye Selo (26 km) was opened in 1837. This was the beginning of a period of rapid railway construction: from 1850 to 1900, more than 800 thousand km of tracks were put into operation in the world (on average 16 thousand km per year). The record holder in this area was the United States, and Russia came in second place. By 1920, the length of the world's railways had already reached almost 1.2 million km. They played an exceptional role in the formation of the international geographical division of labor within individual countries and continents, and, accordingly, in the development of the world economy.
However, since the 20s of the XX century. the development of rail transport has slowed down. Until the 50-70s. 20th century the length of the world's railways still continued to increase, but then it began to decrease (Table 140). Some regression of this type of transport was caused primarily by competition from other, newer types of it - automobile, air, pipeline. As a result, the share of rail transport in the global freight and passenger turnover has noticeably decreased (Fig. 104).
Despite such a regression, when assessing the current stage of development of the world's railway transport, one cannot but see the radical transformations that have been taking place in this industry since the 1970s. They are aimed not so much at the further expansion of the network, but at the development and implementation of new technologies, the electrification of railways, the transition to mechanization and automation systems, the use of computer technology, the creation of high-speed highways, and a new organization of passenger and freight traffic. As a result, in the second half of the 1990s. the situation on the railway transport began to stabilize. Experts believe that rail transport has found a certain niche within which it can receive new development incentives. But the prospects for new large-scale railway construction, especially in Eurasia, are now also estimated more highly.
These global trends mask significant geographic differences that reflect differences between regional transport systems and are expressed in both rail network performance and transport performance.
With the relative stability of the length of the world's railway network as a whole, in some countries and regions it is declining, while in others, on the contrary, it is growing. The most striking example of a country where this network is being reduced is the United States. Length of railways in 1950–2005 decreased there from 360 thousand km to 231 thousand, i.e., almost 1.6 times. Another example is the countries of Western Europe: in the UK, over the same period of time, the network decreased from 34 thousand km to 16 thousand, during
France - from 45 thousand km to 29 thousand. But, on the other hand, in many countries of the world and in the second half of the 20th century. continued to expand the rail network. Examples of this kind include the former USSR, China, Canada, India, and some other countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Suffice it to say that in China alone, during the ninth five-year plan, it was planned to build 20,000 km of new railways. In total, railways continue to be built in three dozen countries.
Now let's turn to Table 141, which provides information on the total length of railways and the density of the railway network in countries where this length exceeds 10 thousand km. An analysis of the table shows that there are 22 such countries in total, and most of them are economically developed, and the rest are the most “advanced” developing ones.
Table 141
Of great interest for analysis is also the column of the table relating to the density (density) of the railway network, the indicators of which are characterized by a very large scatter.
Until relatively recently, the maximum void was considered to be more than 100 km per 1000 km2 of territory, which several European countries had. But due to the reduction of the railway network, only one remained in this group, the Czech Republic (120 km), which was not included in the table. Quite high indicators of network density, which are in the range of 50–100 km per 1000 km2, are also characteristic primarily for the countries of foreign Europe and Japan. Very large countries in terms of territory - Canada, Russia, China, India, Australia and even the USA - despite the large total length of railways, have significantly lower indicators of the density of the railway network. They are even lower, as a rule, in most developing countries (in Asia and Latin America, usually up to 10 km, and in Africa - up to 5 km per 1000 km2 of territory). And this is not to mention the fact that in many countries of Tropical Africa there are no railways at all.
Table 142
Similar large regional and country differences are hidden behind global transport performance. The world freight turnover of railways in 2005 amounted to 8,000 billion t/km. The main role in its provision is played by the countries included in the top ten in this indicator. They account for more than 9/10 of this turnover (Table 142).
World passenger traffic of railways at the beginning of the XXI century. remains stable at 1,900 billion passenger-kilometres. But for a more realistic characterization of it, we will use a slightly different indicator: how many kilometers on average one passenger travels by rail per year. The first place in the world in this indicator is occupied by Japan (2000 km). This is followed by Switzerland (1700 km), Austria (1200), Ukraine, Russia and Belarus (1150 km each), France (1000), the Netherlands and Egypt (from 900 to 1000 km).
Of great interest for characterizing the network (and operation) of railways is familiarity with the level of their electrification (Fig. 105). As can be clearly seen, the length of electrified highways is by no means always directly proportional to the size of the country's territory or the length of its railway network in operation. This applies even more to the share of electrified roads in relation to their total length, which even in the 17 countries shown in Figure 105 ranges from 22-23% (China, India) to 70 (Sweden) and even 95%. (Switzerland). Of the countries left outside this graph, Georgia (100%), Luxembourg (95%), Armenia (91), Belgium (74), the Netherlands (73), Bulgaria (63), Norway (62%) have a large share of electrified railways. ). It is also interesting that in Canada and Australia there are no electrified roads at all, while in the USA they make up only 1% of the total length of the network; these countries focus only on diesel traction.
One of the main areas of "reanimation" of railway transport has recently become the construction of high-speed lines, on which passenger express trains develop a speed of 200-300 km per hour, and sometimes more. The pioneers in the construction of such roads were Japan and France. Then they began to be built in other countries of Western Europe (Germany, Italy), in the USA (between Washington and New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, Florida), in the Republic of Korea (Seoul - Busan), in China.
The following examples testify to the fact that even large natural barriers to railway transport have long been no longer insurmountable. With regard to mountains, the most famous example is, of course, the Alps, where in the 19th and 20th centuries. railways were laid through passes at an altitude of 2200–2300 m. In Norway, a 500 km long railway connected Oslo and Bergen, rising to a height of 1300 m; it has 184 tunnels with a total length of 38 km. In the eastern part of India at the end of the 19th century. A 50-kilometer railway was built connecting the climatic resort of Darjeeling in the Himalayas with the main railway line. And the railway connecting the networks of Chile and Argentina and crossing the Andes rises to an absolute height of 4470 m! Examples of overcoming large water barriers are more typical for our days. This is the construction of the Seikan tunnel in Japan between the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido, the Eurotunnel in Europe, which connected the networks of Great Britain and France across the English Channel. Before 2010, they also plan to build a tunnel under the Strait of Gibraltar, which will connect the railways of Morocco and Spain, that is, Africa and Europe.
Russia was and remains, one might say, a great railway power. Occupying the second place in the world in terms of the total length of railways (85 thousand km, or 8% of the world), Russia provides 23% of the world freight turnover and 7% of the world passenger traffic of railway transport. As already noted, railways take on approximately 2/5 of Russia's internal freight and passenger traffic, and their share in external transportation is 40–45%. In terms of railway freight traffic (which is measured in million tons/km per 1 km of track per year), Russia, like the Soviet Union in the past, has no equal in the whole world. Russia also has the longest Trans-Siberian Railway in the world (10 thousand km), the 100th anniversary of which was celebrated in 2001. Along with this, one cannot ignore the fact that in the 1990s. the performance of the country's railways has declined significantly, and the tracks themselves and rolling stock need significant modernization. That is why in 2007 the “Strategy for the development of railway transport in the Russian Federation until 2030” was adopted, the implementation of which should radically increase the country's transport security. In particular, it is planned to build 20,000 km of new lines.
Rail transport ranks second in terms of freight turnover (after maritime) and second in terms of passenger traffic (after road transport). Currently, its development is slowing down. In terms of the total length of the road network (about 1.2 million km), it is inferior not only to road transport, but also to air and pipeline transport. The main function of railway transport is the transportation of bulk industrial and agricultural goods (coal, steel, grain, etc.) over long distances. A distinctive feature is the regularity of movement, regardless of the weather and season.
The development of railway transport is determined by the following indicators:
- the total length of the railways of a particular region;
- density (density) of the railway network (length of railways per 100 or 1000 km2);
- Freight and passenger traffic.
In addition, important indicators are the degree of electrification of railways and other indicators characterizing its quality.
Differences in the level of development of railway transport by region are very large. For example, the countries of North America and Western Europe are oversaturated with railways, and some countries in Africa and Asia do not have them at all.
In general, in the world, due to competition with road transport, the length of the railway network is shrinking, mainly in developed countries (and Western European countries). Their new construction is carried out only in individual, mostly developing countries and countries with economies in transition (China, China, etc.).
In terms of the length of the railway network, the leading positions in the world are occupied by the largest (in terms of territory) countries: the USA (176 thousand km), Russia (86), (85), China, Germany, Australia, Mexico. These countries account for more than half of the total length of the world's railways.
European countries are leading in the density of railways (their density is 133 km per 1,000 sq. km). The density of the railway network on average in African countries is only 2.7 km per 1 thousand square meters. km.
In terms of the level of electrification of railways, they are also ahead of all European countries (about 100% of railways are electrified, in - 65%, in, and - more than 50%, in Russia - 47%). Russia ranks first in terms of the total length of electrified railways.
US railroad electrification is very low (1%).
In some regions and countries of the world, railways have different gauges. The gauge is wider than in the countries of Eastern and Western Europe, North America, Asia. Does not correspond to the Western European gauge of some other states (for example, the states of the Iberian Peninsula). In general, the Western European track accounts for up to 3/4 of the length of the world's roads.
In terms of cargo turnover, the United States, China and Russia occupy the leading positions in the world, in terms of passenger turnover - Japan (395 billion passenger-km), China (354), India (320), Russia (170), Germany - 60 billion passenger-km;
In a number of developed countries (France, Japan, the Federal Republic of Germany, etc.), ultra-high-speed (with a speed of more than 300 km / h) railways have been created.
The railways of the CIS countries, foreign Europe, North America within their regions are connected into a single transport system, that is, they form regional railway systems. So, for example, for the implementation of transit traffic between foreign Europe and through the territory of the CIS, the Trans-Siberian "bridge" was laid, along which goods pass to the ports of Nakhodka and Vostochny and further to.
Characterizing railway transport, it is necessary to note the qualitative changes in it at the present stage: the use of new types of engines, the creation of wheelless trains operating on an air cushion, magnetic and electromagnetic suspension.
The longest railway in Russia
In Russia, as well as throughout the world, the Trans-Siberian Railway is recognized as the longest railway. Its second name is Transsib.The giant road began to be laid in 1891. In those years, it was called the Great Siberian Way. Despite the fact that construction has been carried out since the nineteenth century, this road has been modernized and quite modern.
Its length is almost nine thousand three hundred kilometers. The path passes through the capital of Russia, through Perm, Yaroslavl, Omsk, Krasnoyarsk, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg and other large industrial cities. Stretching across the Far East and Eastern Siberia, this record-breaking railway pierces the largest outlets to Asia. Connecting Asia and Europe, for the most part it passes through Asia.
The fastest train of the Trans-Siberian Railway is Rossiya. His route is Moscow-Vladivostok. The train delivers passengers from one destination to another in just over six days.
I must say that Russia is second only to America in the length of railroad tracks, being in second place in the world. The length of Russian networks is eighty-five thousand kilometers three hundred meters.
The longest railroad in the USA
The oldest and one of the longest in America is the transcontinental railroad, which links the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Construction began in the days of President Lincoln, was carried out for a long time and with great difficulty.The opening took place in 1869. It took the locomotive almost eighty-four hours to cover the journey from San Francisco to New York. This significant railroad connected ports located on two oceans and became the impetus for the development of the US economy. By the end of the nineteenth century, three more transcontinental railways appeared on the continent, today there are seven of them.
Thanks to the growing popularity of railroads and their active construction, America has become the world leader in the length of the railroad network (254 thousand miles). Now there is a trend towards a significant reduction.
In 2001, the two roads were merged in order to improve their economic situation and competitiveness. Thus was formed the longest system in the United States, which included fifty-four thousand kilometers of one road and fifty-three thousand kilometers of another.
The longest railway in Latin America
In Latin America, railroad construction began in the nineteenth century and continued until the mid-twentieth century. Transcontinental railways cross countries such as Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Central America, Bolivia, Argentina. They are distinguished by a large length, but low technical equipment.Railroads are located in Latin America very unevenly. A country like Argentina is in first place among the countries of its continent in terms of passenger traffic. The length of the railways of this country is thirty-two thousand kilometers.
Not to mention Brazil and Mexico. Countries on their continent occupy a leading position in terms of freight transport by rail. The length of the railways in Mexico is twenty-one thousand kilometers, and in Brazil - thirty thousand kilometers.
China recently signed an agreement with Brazil to build a transatlantic railroad that will connect the country's midwest to the Pacific Ocean. This road, passing through Bolivia and Peru, will enable all Latin American countries to trade directly with China.
The longest railway in minecraft
In the popular minecraft game, anyone can play the role of a railroad builder. Fans of the game, numerous gamers, even compete with each other in who will have such a road the longest.SO DIFFERENT RAILWAYS
Railways of Russia against the world background: figures, facts and a bit of history
Of the total length of the world's railways, Russia accounts for about 7.5%. At the same time, the share of the population of Russia is 2.2%, and the area of the territory is 11.4%.
When studying international experience, an important role is played by comparison (benchmarking) of the objects of study according to one or another system of indicators.
The length of Russian public railways is 85,400 km. Of course, this is an important indicator. But is it a lot or a little in comparison with other countries? The area of the territory, the population, the state of the economy of various countries vary widely. In order to give an answer of practical value to the question posed, it is necessary to bring this indicator to comparable species. For example, refer it to the area of territory, population or gross product of the country.
In the public consciousness, which most readily reproduces anecdotal interpretations of historical events, the motif rounding track size. In addition, there is a widespread opinion about insignificance 4mm difference.
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You can't understand Russia with your mind... A fragment of the popular discussion of the "squiggles" of the Russian gauge on the Internet forumBeOn. en, |
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We are talking about "yzkyyu" 1520 and "wide" 1524 mm gauge. What is the difference here? Why do these 2 standards exist? What is it for? In what cases is 1520 mm gauge used, and in which 1524 mm? Are they fully compatible? This is detailed in the PTE. In short, on straight lines, newly laid rails should have a gauge of 1520 mm, on curves the gauge increases inversely in proportion to the turning radius - up to 1544 mm on curves with a radius of less than 100 m. A gauge of 1524 mm is laid on curves with a radius of more than 600 m. both 1520 and 1524 mm. During repairs and so on, the track is adjusted to the new standard. But no one is forcing you to change all the rails, there is compatibility, and the new standard was introduced rather for rounding. It was invented somewhere around 1970. Something I doubt that such changes are made for the sake of rounding. Here is what I read about this: "the interaction of wheels with a rail track at speeds of 120 km / h and above with a width of 1520 improves, the path is less upset and the cost of the current maintenance of the track decreases." According to this phrase, it turns out that the 1520 mm gauge was programmed by nature itself. So why not do even less then? Or does some research show that 1520 mm is the critical point for existing bogies? In fact, it all depends on how the bogies are built - if you build under 1520, then naturally, and they will go better on the 1520 track. |
The fact that the transition to the 1520 mm gauge was carried out “not forcibly”, but as “repairs and other things” were carried out, is also confirmed by more serious sources than Internet folklore. As a result of such a transition, somewhere in the 80s, a rather extraordinary situation developed: “two types of rail gauge are legalized and equally exist on the railways of our country, which is an undoubted absurdity from the standpoint of the interaction of rolling stock running gear, and primarily wheeled steam, with rail gauge.
Around the same period. On the Russian railways, the problem of wheel-rail interaction manifested itself with extraordinary force, expressed in catastrophically rapid wear of both rails and wheels. Wheel wear reached ten or more millimeters per 10 thousand kilometers (despite the fact that a decent wheel should have a mileage of about 1 million kilometers).
The sharply increased cases of rolling stock derailments in most cases were directly or indirectly related to this phenomenon. Specialists, scientists and practitioners have put forward a number of versions explaining this phenomenon. In professional discussions, the problem has received the "medical" name "wheel and rail virus".
Among other explanations, the version about the conflict between the rolling stock and the "narrowed" gauge of 1520 mm received some support. This version was supported by the fact that it was not so much the wear of the rolling surfaces that was observed, but the lateral wear of the rails and the wear of the wheel flanges. Supporters of this version consider a return to the 1524 mm standard as a solution to the problem.
For more than a hundred years they have been driving on a track with a width of 1524 millimeters. And suddenly someone came up with the idea to narrow it by four millimeters. I do not see the benefits of this innovation, but the harm from it appears in all its glory. This is an intense wear of rails in curves and undercutting of wheel flanges. The wheel pair in the curve rises by surprise, resting against the rails with the bases of the ridges. 25 tons are pressing on it, squeezing it into a rut. Screeching and grinding of metal is heard, despite the lubrication. There is a direct threat to traffic safety. And not only in curves. When the metal is chipped, the wheel flange can run into the wit of the switch.
Previously, the Zlatoust depot had time to grind wheelsets. Now he does not have time and drives electric locomotives to the Petropavlovsk locomotive depot of the South Ural Railway, which turns into losses. To return to a normal track, but where there!
Albert VASILIEV, machinist.
Petropavlovsk,
The Republic of Kazakhstan.
Discussion of this topic in the format of a dispute about which standard better, 1524 or 1520 mm, of course, no more productive than a theological discussion about how many devils can fit on the point of a needle. There is no doubt that a good solution to the problem of interaction between the rolling stock and the track can be achieved in the same way, both with one and the other (and any third) gauge, as evidenced by the rich international experience of railways with a gauge of 1435 mm and many other standards.
Another thing is that the transition from one size to another, which stretched over decades, inevitably had to turn the network into a “patchwork carpet” at a certain stage, when part of the path corresponds to one standard, part to another, and the third - neither the first nor the second. Wherein national gauge- kind brand(or trademark) networks humiliated to the concept of the insignificant, and thus, voluntarily or involuntarily, a technical culture of the type “plus or minus bast shoes does not play a role” is being implanted.
On a number of roads, primarily on Zabaykalskaya, already six months after the overhaul of the track on separate stages, the lateral wear of the rails reaches 10 millimeters! In the same place, broadening (up to 1546 mm) or narrowing (up to 1513 mm) of the track is allowed during repairs.
From the speech of the head of the Department of traffic safety and ecology Petr Shanaytsa at the enlarged meeting of the board of the Ministry of Railways on February 1, 2003
As a comment to the quote, we note that, according to technical standards, in the event of a widening of the track over 1546 mm, as well as in the event of a narrowing of the track to a size of less than 1512 mm, traffic in this section must be closed.
In recent years, the severity of the problem of the "wheel-rail virus" has been significantly reduced. And the main role in this, apparently, was played by lubrication: the lubrication of rails and wheel flanges. However, in this field, the discussion received a new impetus for development - now about the various methods of lubrication, their consequences and effectiveness.
In general, dissatisfaction with the state of the theory and practice of the interaction of the track with the rolling stock continues to persist in the professional environment, as evidenced by the lively discussion that took place on the pages of the Gudok newspaper in 2003. As a result of this discussion and the scientific-practical conference “Modern Problems of Interaction between Rolling Stock and Track”, which followed it, scientists counted about 60 factors that affect the operation of the “wheel-rail” system to varying degrees, from which it follows that there is no then the only simple explanation problems of this system, as well as the only simple recipe for their solution.
Approximately in the same years when the transition to the 1520 mm gauge was carried out, a number of other technical innovations were introduced. It seems that all these innovations lacked coordination, and the transitional state of the track and rolling stock from one standard to another contributed to the overall drama. In general, apparently, the management of the complex of interaction between the track and the rolling stock was lost.
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The history of the "wheel-rail virus" |
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Wear rate [ wheels and rails] increased in the mid-seventies and reached catastrophic proportions by the early nineties. During this period, the operating conditions in railway transport have changed significantly. The change of the track gauge from 1524 mm on straight sections to 1520 mm gauge has been completed, and the norms of gauge broadening in curves have also changed. On the main tracks, volume-hardened rails of heavy types of increased hardness were laid, and the hardness of the wheel steel remained practically unchanged. The transition to rolling bearings was completed instead of plain bearings that require constant lubrication in axle boxes. There was an increase in the static load on the axle, as well as an increase in the mass and length of the train. Composite brake pads began to be introduced instead of cast iron ones. On a large scale, wooden sleepers were replaced with reinforced concrete ones, while the rigidity of the track increased. Everyone understands that lubrication, even if it reduces wear, does not eliminate the main cause of the "wheel-rail virus" - a high level of contact stresses in contacting bodies, which cause increased wear and contact fatigue cracks. It is still not clear which wheels wear out the rails more. Some authors consider these wheels to be locomotive, others to be wagon wheels. Thus, despite the fact that many researchers have dealt with this problem, the reasons for the sharp decrease in the operational stability of wheels and rails have not yet been finally disclosed. There is no comprehensive approach to this problem, there is no well-thought-out system of experimental study of the interaction between the wheel and the rail. And this must be done, in our deep conviction, under conditions of real operation, where many factors are manifested simultaneously. Marat AKHMETZYANOV, An integrated approach is needed , "Beep", April 8, 2003 |
In any case, the "reform 1524/1520" was not the only and probably not the main source of the "wheel and rail virus". Nevertheless, during the discussion in Gudok, many participants again and again turned to the origins of the reform of the Russian gauge.
In 1965 ... the high-speed train ER200 was created. At the same time, specialists were faced with the need to moderate the intensity of vibrations that lead to wobble, drift and roll of the rolling stock in straight sections of the track and in curves of a large radius. Too strong fluctuations caused not only a disruption of the track and increased wear of the rolling stock, but also directly threatened the safety of train traffic. There have even been crashes due to wobbling locomotives.
The fact is that for freight cars, starting from a speed of 60-70 km / h, for locomotives - from 120-160 and for high-speed trains - from 200-300 km / h (depending on the design solutions of the chassis), the rolling stock accumulates the energy of lateral vibrations. It increases sharply with an increase in the gap between the rail and the wheel and is extinguished when the flanges of the wheel pairs run onto the side surfaces of the rails. The larger the gap in the track, the greater the energy of lateral oscillations accumulates during the time between two successive runs of the wheelset on the rails, and the stronger the impact is perceived by both the rail and the wheelset.
Scientists from VNIIZhT and universities conducted experiments on experimental sections laid down on the Sverdlovsk and South Ural, Kuibyshev and North Caucasian, Moscow and Lvov railways with a gauge of 1518, 1520, 1524, 1527 millimeters with curves up to a radius of 300 meters. As a result, the track width of 1520 millimeters was adopted as optimal. An additional conclusion in favor of this standard: on domestic railways, the gap in the track was much larger than on the railways of the West.
Experimental studies have shown that when switching from a track width of 1524 to a track of 1520 millimeters, even at a speed of 100 - 120 kilometers per hour on straight sections, the transverse accelerations of the axle box are reduced by 22 - 24 percent. It should also be noted that on straight sections there is no problem of lateral wear of the rails, and therefore no problem of wear of the wheel flanges.
Ivan PROKUDIN, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Head of the Department of PGUPS;
Valentin VINOGRADOV, Doctor of Technical Sciences, First Vice-Rector of Moscow State University of Transportation;
Eduard VOROBYOV, head of the department of Moscow State University of Education and Science;
Gennady AKKERMAN, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Head of the Department, USURU;
Nikolai KARPUSHCHENKO, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Head of the Department of SGUP;
Valeriy GRISCHENKO, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Director of the Institute of Advanced Transport Technologies and Retraining of Personnel of the SGUP;
Vladimir POZDEEV, head of the department, IrGUPS,
Viktor PEVZNER, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Head of the VNIIZhT laboratory;
Alexander KOGAN, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Chief Researcher of VNIIZhT;
Victor RYBKIN, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Head of the Department of DIIT (Ukraine).
It's time for the truth to come out of the shadows , "Gudok", August 6, 2003
With all due respect to the slender phalanx of railway science hoplites, the question remains unclear why the problem of improving the interaction between track and rolling stock had to be solved at the expense of the track (and not bogies)? Only one of the articles in Gudok manages to find alleged explanation: “the alteration of the gauge, combined with the overhaul of the track, took place in the second half of the last century. It must be assumed that it was easier than pushing the wheels of the entire wagon and locomotive fleet.
So, "it must be assumed" that the alteration of 200 thousand km of gauge seemed to be a simpler undertaking than pushing the wheels apart. She was probably more simple but have the goals been achieved?
The track is single, but the rolling stock is diverse: there are freight trains, there are passenger trains, there are wagons, there are locomotives. It is clear even to a non-specialist that the adaptation of the rolling stock to the track is much more promising, since it provides quite a lot of degrees of freedom for maneuver, while the track has none.
Russian gauge in the near and far abroad
The Russian gauge of the 1524 mm standard for many years faithfully served the development of economic relations between the USSR and Finland and other countries adjacent to the USSR that have railways of this standard. As far as is known, Finland did not take any steps to switch to the 1520 mm standard either in Soviet or post-Soviet times.
That is, our Finnish colleagues regard the 4-mm difference as an insignificant value from the point of view of docking with Russian railways and do not see the need for our reform.
The railways of the newly independent states after the collapse of the USSR turned out to be the least susceptible to centrifugal tendencies and continue to reliably serve the mutual and common economic interests of all former Soviet republics, not excluding even the Baltic countries, which are now members of the European Union.
The collapse of the USSR apparently occurred just at the very peak of the peaceful (or not so) coexistence of two gauge standards in one network, so that, in general, all the newly independent states inherited the Soviet reform of the Russian gauge, which, in particular, , testifies to the speech of the Kazakh machinist A. Vasiliev quoted above in the "Beep" on February 15, 2003.
However, the number of owners of the Russian gauge has now increased by 14 countries, and options are possible.
Has the process been reversed?
Outcome
So, what remains “in the bottom line” to explain the amazing Soviet reform of the Russian gauge? Alas, only the fact that this reform is clearly indebted to its origin temptation a simple solution to a complex set of problems the demon beguiled…
Purchasing power parity (GDP PPP per capita)
This indicator is also often referred to as density road network, especially when applied to highways
There is another approach to determining the density of the national road network, when the productive land area is taken as the base. However, this approach has not been widely adopted in practice.
Ordinary, traditional - in line with the old paradigm
This assertion is supported by the fact that the expression track 1 has become a widespread cliché - both outside the industry and in the professional environment. So 1520 or 1524? This is the standard!
, “Gauge unification affects traffic safety”, Eurasia Vesti VIII 2004
A. Golovaty, Esprit de corps, "Gudok", March 26, 2003
V. Goshawk, In search of truth, "Gudok", November 26, 2003
The elegant ending of this article, although it has nothing to do with the case, still deserves to be quoted here: “We believe that it is not individual random persons who should speak publicly on this topic, but commissioned by the editors - professionals who know the essence well affairs". An old tried-and-tested method of the orthodox: to declare dissenters as separate random heretics and sectarians.
V. Teteryatnik, V. Ishechkin, Five feet under the wagon"Gudok", December 20, 2003
There is a small gap in gauge between Finnish and Russian railways. The Finnish gauge is 1524 mm, and the Russian gauge is 1520 mm, but this does not prevent the through movement of trains
Note: as the lines are modernized, the track width is increased from 1520 mm to 1524 mm in order to reduce the wear of wheels and rails (2002)
