The report outlines the topics deliberated upon during meetings held by the specialized sections of the Scientific and Technical Council of JSC NIIAS in the latter half of 2023. The existing challenges have been evaluated, and objectives for future research have been suggested in essential fields of scientific and technological advancement of the institute. The focus is on utilising unmanned technologies and vision systems in railway transport, automating the release of hazardous materials on marshalling humps equipped with KSAU SP. The document covers the approach to implementing the Plan for the Implementation of Measures for the Safe Development of Software for Russian Railways Systems according to GOST R 56939-2016 "Information Security. Secure software development. General Requirements". The discussion encompassed the scientific basis and implementation of a safety justification approach centered on managing risks. Additionally, the idea of establishing a centralised repository for source code at NIIAS JSC was presented. The focus was on the integration of mechatronic and robotic systems in the diagnostics of rolling stock, and the usage of broadband communication networks, based on LTE technology, within the scope of the LTE railway telecommunications status. High-precision positioning issues for unmanned rolling stock control tasks are examined. Some of the discussions are presented in this review.

The digital transformation of railways provides for a transition to predictive maintenance of railway assets, as well as adaptive planning and management of the entire railway system with the application of digital tools for collecting, processing and transmitting data. The article provides an overview and analysis of some key areas of railway digitalization while specifying some tasks, existing limitations and trends, with the experience of Russian railways as well taken into account

Human-centric functional management is explored, the content of the concept is revealed, and the connection of this management with technical network-centric management is shown. Human-centric management uses different models: the cognitive field model, the information field model and the "functional state space" model. Functional state space provides a complete representation of the states that systems or models can occupy. Functional state spaces also provide a representation of processes and information interactions. This representation corresponds to a topological model in which vertices represent states and arcs represent processes. The proposed approach solves three problems: describing the state of the system; semantic information management; description of the behavior of a system or object in terms of a functional state space.

The article examines laser scanning, which is used in monitoring transport infrastructure facilities. The application of this method is described. It is used if infrastructure objects have cultural significance or complex shapes that preclude contact application of marks for monitoring. Laser monitoring is considered as one of the types of geomonitoring. The main functions of monitoring transport infrastructure facilities are described. The content of the geomonitoring technological scheme is revealed. The location of laser scanning in this diagram is shown. The article introduces the term "laser monitoring". The advantages and disadvantages of laser monitoring are shown. Unlike geodetic laser monitoring, it is widespread. The article reveals the principles and content of laser measurements. The pulse method of measurements and the phase method of distance measurements are considered. A diagram is given and the content of the technology for working with laser measurements is disclosed.

The article explores the temporal approach applicable to solving logistics problems. Temporal models, temporal relations, temporal marks are considered. The article introduces the concept of "temporal analysis". A taxonomy of temporal models is given. Temporal analysis combines temporal logic and temporal modeling. Temporal cause-and-effect analysis is described as a development of temporal analysis. The content of the concept of temporary uncertainty is revealed. The connection between temporal models and situational models is shown. The features of the use of temporal methods in transport management are described. The features of the use of temporal models in the field of transport are described. The article provides an analysis of time intervals. The concept of local time interval and interval boundaries is introduced. The features of obtaining and using timestamps are described. A formalized description of temporal models is given. The connection of temporal intervals with situations and states of the object is shown. The article gives a formal description of near and distant intervals. Three temporal models of movement are given. The article reveals the content of temporal cause-and-effect analysis. The reasons for its appearance are shown. Methods for reducing temporal uncertainty are described.

The article is devoted to the study of the dynamics of transport problems. The object of study is the flow of moving objects. Types of modeling of discrete flows are considered. The difference between cargo flows and vehicle flows is shown. For discrete flows, a flow element is introduced - a transport unit of flow. An analysis is given of the development of methods for describing and modeling traffic flows. The conditions for the functioning of a discrete flow are shown. Three levels of transport flows are described: discrete, discrete-continuous, generalized. The problems of modeling traffic flows are described. A taxonomy for the development of flow control methods is given. The content of complementarity and mismatch of discrete flows is revealed. The content of dissipation of transport flows is revealed. The phenomenon and content of the stream clustering model is revealed. The first and second Wardrop principles are described as rules for choosing behavior for a flow unit. The difference between the topological and wave structure of the flow is shown. The content of the concept of vector field of traffic flow is revealed.

The description of a fiber-optic system for diagnostics and monitoring of artificial structures and structures, operating in real time and warning about approaching a critical state level, is given. Methods and variants of equipment for vibroacoustic control are considered. The algorithm of operation and the block diagram of the system of continuous monitoring of the stress-strain state of structures of artificial structures for the purpose of their control and diagnostics to prevent an emergency condition, as well as to improve the safety of train traffic is given. The assessment of the technical condition of structures during their operation is carried out on the basis of vibroacoustic sensor technology, taking into account the capabilities of the equipment used

The most important task of increasing the operational reliability of the railway track is to achieve uniform service life in the operation of its elements. Currently, to eliminate track faults in the form of local subsidence, distortions, and other deviations in the track profile, the method of using shims (cards) in local areas has become widespread. Research has established that the consequence of reducing the under-rail support area when using shims (cards) is a decrease in the elastic modulus of the under-rail base by 7-15% and an increase in fatigue degradation processes of rail steel by 8-18%. This must be taken into account from the point of view of the uniform resource life of track elements to increase the operational reliability of the track.