Influence of the transportation process technology on the electric freight locomotives exploitation efficiency

Improving the efficiency of the main activities of JSC «Russian Railways» is currently a relevant and significant issue. According to the provisions of the company main strategic documents, the key performance indicators for the locomotives are to be improved by 2025 and continue so until 2035. The paper deals with the analysis of problems and proposals for improving the management of electric locomotives that carry most of goods on the railways of the Russian Federation. The paper analyzes the possibilities to improve the main operational indicators of locomotive complex by increasing the efficiency of the organization of electric locomotives operation. One of the key performance indicators of the locomotive complex is the average daily performance of electric locomotives. To improve this indicator, it is necessary to increase the amount of work per unit of electric traction rolling stock. The given paper proposes two ways to achieve this. Firstly, it is the qualitative improvement of advantageous locomotives, increasing their traction properties; secondly, the improvement of the technology used to manage traction systems. The paper shows that in order to achieve the company targets, JSC «Russian Railways» has to necessarily implement the second solution, namely, introduce and improve the polygon technologies for managing traction resources and switch to extended railroad hauls of electric locomotives. The paper presents the main requirements and conditions for implementing these technical solutions.