Passive Safety of Freight Wagons As a Criterion for Innovative Freight Rolling Stock

The article discusses the application of passive safety systems in railway transport. It analyzes existing protection systems, their design features, and effectiveness. Purpose: To analyze existing passive safety systems in the transport industry and develop reasonable technical solutions for implementing passive safety systems on freight wagons. Results: The development of passive safety systems has been analysed; regulatory documents have been reviewed and the reasons why it is not possible to introduce crash elements into the design of freight rolling stock at this stage have been identified. Based on the analysis of passive safety systems, options for their application on freight rolling stock have been proposed, including crash elements on certain types of freight cars, depending on their design features. Practical significance: The use of crash buffers and combined couplers on certain types of freight railcars in emergency situations will reduce the risk of car derailment and damage to the car body due to the absorption of impact energy. This will ensure the safety of cargo in emergency situations, reduce the probability of damage to infrastructure facilities and elements of the track superstructure, and decrease the cost of rolling stock repair.