The article reviews the framework work of the International Salon “PRO//Motion.Expo-2025”, held on August 28–31, 2025 in St. Petersburg in Russian Railway Museum and Baltiyskiy railway station. The event, organized by JSC Russian Railways every two years, has become a key platform for demonstrating the achievements of domestic and foreign railway engineering.
The salon program included “Business Days” (August 28–29) and “Open Road Days” (August 30–31) with workshops, lectures and an exhibitions of equipment. Over 130 companies, including JSC Transmashholding, JSC Sinara — Transport Machines, NPC United Wagon Company and foreign companies from China and CIS countries, presented their developments on an area of over 5,000 m2. High–speed highways were especially important in the discussions: educational programs for training 500 specialists by 2028 was announced, and infrastructure solutions for the Moscow – St. Petersburg high-speed railway were presented. Emperor Alexander I Petersburg State Transport University demonstrated robotic platforms and interactive simulators. Treaties were signed, panel discussions on technological sovereignty and digitalization were held, and a dynamic exposition of historical rolling stock dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War was presented. The railway fair confirmed the status of the largest exhibition in the 1520 railway zone. 

This paper examines the innovation management system at Russian Railways (RZD), one of the largest railway companies in the world, and analyses the evolution of the RZD innovation policy from 2007 — the year that a strategic course for technological development was taken — up to the present day.
In the paper the authors describe the key institutional element of the system: the Center for Innovative Development (established in 2009), which coordinates strategic planning, methodological supporting, the management of the external projects portfolio, interacting with the external environment, and intellectual capital. We also show how the company moved from isolated experiments to a centralized management system that oversees its central and regional levels, as well as subsidiaries.
The paper introduces the main forecasting and planning tools used: foresights (including a long-term, foresight study up to 2050 completed in 2021) and technological comparisons (benchmarking against 60 foreign companies according to 70 individual metrics and 34 technological areas). The authors give examples of innovative projects that are being implemented: driverless trains on the Moscow Central Circle; a digital railway station in Chelyabinsk; and the construction of the high-speed railway between Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Further, we describe the “open innovations” ecosystem: regional centres for innovative development; the “One Stop Shop for Innovations” digital platform; and partnerships with technology parks and innovation clusters (Skolkovo, Innopolis, etc.). The mechanisms for supporting projects at all stages are explained — from idea (quantoriums, business incubators, and the “New Link” and JSC RZD “Idea” competitions) to replication (the Russian Railways Innovation Support Programme).
Particular attention is paid to intellectual property management: the portfolio of JSC Russian Railways includes more than 4700 assets (software, inventions, utility models, trademarks). Measures to protect intellectual property, litigation work, and commercialization strategy are discussed.
The authors conclude that a systemic innovation policy, coupled with the synergy of internal and external resources, a focus on technological sovereignty and intellectual capital management, will ensure that Russian Railways maintains its position as a transport industry leader. 

High-speed rail service turns 60 in 2024, and 2025 is the bicentennial of rail transport. In this regard, the paper provides a comparative analysis of the development trends of conventional and high-speed rail infrastructure. The main objective of the work is to study the dynamics of the development of the two types of railway infrastructure, their impact on society and the global economy. The study is based on statistical analysis of data on the length of railways and discusses examples of various countries that played a key role in the development of both conventional and high-speed rail systems.

The paper discusses the advantages of “T” — loading gauge freight wagons. It shows that their use will enable countries with the 1,520 mm track gauge to increase the carrying capacity of their railways by increasing the weight of trains, reduce the required fleet size on account of higher capacity of wagons and cut traction costs, while also reducing shipping costs for consignors. The paper reviews the challenges related to the introduction of “T” — loading gauge wagons due to the reduced clearances on the railway network and insufficient bridge load capacity. 

The article provides an overview and analysis of the designs of instrumented wheelsets used to measure lateral, longitudinal and vertical forces at the point of contact between the wheel and the rail. The use of instrumented wheelsets is an important tool for conducting research and certification tests on rolling stock. The relevance of this tool increases with higher axle loads and higher speeds. In addition, the instrumented wheelsets currently in use allow for the implementation of various (piecewise continuous or continuous) methods for recording vertical and lateral interactive forces in the wheel-rail system in a single turn of a wheel. Point methods of measuring the impact of rolling stock on the railway track by deformation in the rail allow for measuring the force between the wheel and the rail only at the moment when the wheel is above the measuring section of a railway track. The main disadvantage of using existing instrumented wheelsets for estimating the condition of a railway track is that measurements depend on the speed of movement and the discreteness of the measuring equipment. When using an instrumented wheelset for assessing the condition of a railway track, the probability of detecting a section of the track that presents a risk of derailment is not high enough and needs to be increased.
Methods: A retrospective analysis of the use of instrumented wheelsets was conducted; the main stages of the evolution of instrumented wheelsets were identified. The features of the designs of modern Russian and foreign instrumented wheelsets and methods for recording measurements of vertical and lateral forces acting between the wheel and the rail were considered. Findings: Conclusions were made about the main directions of development and requirements for instrumented wheelsets.
A description was provided for the design and characteristics of the instrumented wheelset with continuous measurement recording developed by scholars of PGUPS and NVC Vagony JSC, which features the lowest measurement pitch among the currently known Russian systems and is provided with special software used to detect sections of the railway track that present the risk of derailment. 

Objective: The purpose of this paper is to trace the formation and development of the Department of Technosphere and Environmental Safety over 75 years of its existence and assess the contribution of its staff to the development of the science of occupational safety, environmental protection, and the training of occupational health and safety specialists for Russian enterprises. Materials and methods: Archival documents of PGUPS and activity reports of the Department were reviewed. Findings: For the first time, this paper presents the stages of the Department’s formation, from an associate professorship in safety engineering and fire safety equipment to a department with highly qualified personnel, material resources and technologies for solving challenging scientific problems and high-quality training of students. Practical significance: Based on the study of archival materials, memoirs of the Department’s long-timer members, and reports, the stages of the Department formation were reconstructed. The collected materials allow for preserving the memory of the employees who made the greatest contribution to the development of the Department, its scientific activity and scholarly works. The contribution of the Department to the training of qualified university graduates is assessed. 

At the end of the 20th century and in the first decades of the 21st century, India achieved significant success in modernizing its rail transport. Good progress has been achieved in almost all branches of the railway sector. The infrastructure has been improved — the Project Unigauge, a nationwide initiative aimed at converting the country’s railway network into a single wide (1,676 mm) gauge system, has been almost completed. Currently, broad gauge railways account for about 97% of the total operational length. In parallel with the reconstruction of the tracks, many bridge crossings have been renovated, and improvement of station and logistics facilities is underway. The electrification of broad gauge tracks is nearing completion; electrified lines currently account for more than 99% of their total length. Railway automation, telecontrol and telecommunication systems are being intensively modernized, and digital technologies are being increasingly used. The rolling stock is being radically updated, including both traction facilities and passenger and freight carriage fleets. High-speed traffic is developing, and the construction of India’s first specialized Mumbai–Ahmedabad high-speed rail line is being completed. The article examines one of the activities of the railways of India — long-distance railway passenger transportation. The authors continue their historical research of the period from the appearance of the first railways in India in the 19th century to the present day. The previous parts of the study were published in this journal in 2023–2024