OREANDA-NEWS. December 20, 2012. In 2012, Russian Railways fulfilled its targeted programmes and investment projects to save resources, thus enabling the Company to hold the increase in its energy consumption to only 1.8% this year, despite a production increase of 2.5%. As a result, the Company reduced the amount of energy used in its transportation operations and achieved total savings of more than 1.9 billion roubles.

These data were presented at the enlarged meeting of the Company’s Board of Directors dedicated to the holding company’s 2012 results by Valentin Gapanovich, Senior Vice President at Russian Railways.

According to Gapanovich, one of the priorities for improving the efficiency of the transport process was the use of a new generation of electric freight locomotives, the Granite 2ES10. Although these account for only 10% of the fleet operating between Yekaterinburg - Balezino, electric locomotives handled more than 18% of the work. The specific energy consumption of these engines is up to 30% lower than that of the VL series of electric locomotives operating on the same line.

The Company also successfully completed certification tests of the new EP20 electric passenger locomotive. This is the first domestic locomotive capable of pulling a passenger train at a speed of 200 kph. The pilot project is part of a larger project to create a single basic platform for fifth- generation Russian locomotives. Its cost over its life cycle is 15% lower than the existing models. The locomotive undertook its first journey with the Nevsky Express on 14 December 2012.

An effective project to dispatch freight trains on schedule by using daily through schedules to optimise energy use was rolled out on South Urals Railways and West Siberian Railways.

When planning such daily timetables, the Company employs algorithms that ensure the maximum use of through capacity on constrained lines and stretches.

The results of the pilot operation confirmed the effectiveness of this technology: the specific energy consumption in comparable conditions for hauling laden trains was reduced by 4.7%.

The new technical solutions employed in the through planning systems at test sites provide the basis for the development of new high-yield segments in the transportation business.

These include piggyback shipments, for which universal platforms for shipping contrailers and containers have been designed and constructed in Russia for the first time – this is to ensure their delivery without any additional restrictions on the 1520mm broad gauge rail system.

In 2013 certification tests will be conducted on platforms and preparations made for serial production.

A unique pilot project was implemented in 2012 on the St. Petersburg - Moscow Main Line – a system was installed that mimics the warning sounds wild animals make when threatened with danger in order to prevent them from crossing the track.

The system was installed at selected stretches of the line which lie on the migration routes of large wild animals. The project is an alternative to building fixed bridges, each one of which can cost more than 300 million roubles, while the cost of the project at one stretch of track is two orders of magnitude lower.

"One of the key ways of increasing the Company’s effectiveness is through strategic quality management of the products we use. Our approach is based on harmonising our development strategies for transport engineering and rail transport. We plan to switch to a procurement method whereby we shall only purchase products from companies with a certified quality management system in compliance with International Railway Industry Standards (IRIS). In 2013, we plan to certify another 20 industrial enterprises to IRIS," said Valentine Gapanovich.

Gapanovich also said that 2012 saw a significant development in the Company’s lean manufacturing project, with implementation expanded by more than 5 times to embrace 553 business units of all railway divisions and areas. The main results have been 1,628 improvement projects and 1,640 revised standards and technological processes which have produced savings of more than 260 million roubles. The most important result, however, has been the formation of a backbone of employees who care about the Company and are interested in improving it.

Valentin Gapanovich noted that Russia will dedicate 2013 to environmental protection after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the relevant decree. As an ecologically oriented company, Russian Railways has prepared a detailled programme to implement the decree’s provisions.

Including the cost of investment projects, the Company plans to spend more than 3.2 billion roubles on environmental protection in 2013.