Rolling Stock for Delicate Cargo
25.10.2007 (17:55)
Pipes, which are used by the largest Russian gas and oil companies for pipelines building, are the cargo which requires delicate transportation conditions. Operators working in this sector have to develop special rolling stock on they own. The chairman of Directors Board of "TGI-TRANCE" company, Doctor of Engineering Sciences, Mikhail Taran told about the features of big diameter pipes transportation.
- Mr. Taran, how could you characterize the current condition of Russian railway network?
- In my opinion, today the railway transportation doesn’t fulfill enterprises’ requirements for volumes of cargoes to be transported, it means shortage of wagons and slow rolling stock modernization. We use gondola cars of the public carrier, and sometimes the schedule breaks for the reason that empty rolling stock arrives too late. Besides, the organization of our rolling stock unloading at stations is at an insufficient level. Why? In my opinion, when railways reform begun, a large quantity of employees was fired. First of all, it concerned repairmen, inspectors, i.e. those services which provided the proper quality. This is the one of negative consequences of the reform.
- You transport a very delicate cargo. Do you involve OAO RZD’s rolling stock?
- Our production (big diameter pipes for gas pipelines building) requires a special quality of rolling stock. We have our own specially adapted wagons which allow to provide high quality of transportation. Unfortunately, it is impossible to tell it about OAO RZD’s park. In my opinion, rolling stock quality control is not sufficient in OAO RZD.
- How do you renew and modernize your own park?
- Today there is no consolidation in Russian scientific centers and new technologies as a result. We develop special rolling stock with enterprises of Rosaviakosmos, Novikov’s design office. As to projects of design office of a wagon management, we do not use them: first, we don’t know them; secondly, we suppose that they don’t exist. Finally, the level of design is very low. Therefore, we should develop rolling stock.
- Is the procedure of certification of own technologies difficult?
- Today the situation has improved. Representatives of OAO RZD work more efficient if to speak about development of loading systems. However, any progressive developments should be confirmed in wagon department, coordinated in the All-Russia Scientific Research Institute of Railway Transport and while this process is not finished, developments will not be tested. On the one hand, coordination is necessary, it is a question of safety. On the other hand, there are problems, because the norms of regulation have become outdated. Today new technologies of the welding and new materials are used, and it is coordinated according to outdated standards! Today, the concepts on development, including usage of the newest materials are approved. However specifications on bogies manufacture are not updated yet. And we would like that the approach used by certification bodies was more constructive.
-Mr.Taran, you work with representatives of foreign railways. Could you characterize a foreign level of service?
- In my opinion, our western partners haven’t any supernatural advantage. There are similar problems. In my opinion, it is necessary to use experience of the western railways in the following sectors: the organization of terminal structure, marketing, technologies of corporate management, controlling, the management account and business processes.
It is pointless to use western technologies in the Russian Federation now, it is impossible to launch a high-speed train on the Russian railway. It is not necessary to study transportation technologies, they are in our country up to the mark. As to technical development, there is a huge quantity of technologies in Russian military-industrial complex, Rosaviakosmos and nuclear sector. There are new materials and new technologies in these sectors. We can create defense system of XXI, and XXII centuries, why don’t we create transport systems of the future?
by Anna Nezhinskaya