Modernization of the track facilities of the Sverdlovsk railway in 1956–1991.

The modernization of the Soviet economy in the mid-1950s, the implementation of the General Plan for the Electrification of Railways in railway transport led to the reconstruction of the track facilities on the Sverdlovsk Railway. The article analyzes two main directions of modernization of track facilities: improving the design and increasing the strength of the track superstructure; introduction of new technologies for repair and maintenance of tracks based on the mechanization of production processes and widespread use of welding. The modernization of the track facilities made it possible to increase the carrying capacity of the railway, increased the mechanization of all types of track repair by 50%, and increased the speed and weight of trains. For the first time, the railway track ceased to limit the power of locomotive traction and the carrying capacity of the rolling stock. At the same time, the author identified factors that slowed down the modernization processes in the track industry: insufficient number of rails allocated to the railway; the absence in the USSR of an industrial base for the production of track machines with computerized control systems; the high intensity of train traffic did not allow for track repairs. The modernization of the track facilities has intensified the transportation process and made it safer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]