Safety of Railway Transport Facilities Operating in Extreme Climatic Conditions

Abstract

Railway facilities in the Northern territories of Russia are built and operated in the areas of the cryolithozone and low climatic temperatures. Railway transport in the Republic has been operating since 1979. In 2004, a 360 km long highway to Tommot was built. Passenger and cargo transportation to Tommot station has been carried out since 2006. In 2014, the Tommot Nizhny Bestyakh section was built with a length of more than 400 km. Currently, intensive preparation of the construction of the Berkakit-YakutskMagadan railway is underway in Yakutia. However, railway transport is one of the potential sources of emergency situations with a large number of victims, significant material damage and adverse environmental consequences. Accidents and emergencies at railway transport facilities are caused by the complex natural and climatic conditions of the region, violation of technical and technological regulations during construction and operation, factory defects of structures and materials, dangerous natural and climatic phenomena, degradation of the cryolithozone and interaction of technological elements and objects with the natural environment, human factor. This article presents an analysis of the main risk factors of railway transport facilities under construction and operating in the extreme conditions of the North. To ensure the the necessary indicators of reliability and durability of components and assemblies of railway equipment operating in cold climates, a regional technical regulation is developed for the operation of railway rolling stock, traction, track facilities and lifting mechanisms. The procedure used for risk analysis is focused on the consideration of emergency situations in which damage and losses may be caused. Key wordsrailway transport; risk factors; accidents and failures; difficult climatic conditions; cryolitozone