Digitalization of freight rail transportation as a factor in improving their efficiency

Emperor Alexander I St. Petersburg State Transport University, Transportation Economics Department, Moskovskij prospect, 9, 190031 St. Petersburg, Russia

^* Corresponding author: natalyabatalova@yandex.ru

Abstract

The economy is currently undergoing significant changes and fluctuations, requiring the transport industry to adapt and improve its services in a timely manner. The most relevant now is the issue of digitalization of transport services, which entails both an increase in the speed of transportation and a gradual departure from a large amount of paper workflow. These changes are taking place, in particular, in the field of railway transport, the role of which in the strategic development of the eastern range is the most important, demonstrating an increase in traffic volumes, minimization of delays in transit, as well as stability and regularity of shipments. The purpose of this article is to substantiate the feasibility of digitalizing the process of transporting goods by rail through the introduction of a specialized digital platform. The authors put forward and prove the assumption that the use of such a platform can reduce the loss of time at all stages of cargo transportation, reduce the costs associated with the transportation process, and also provide more flexible access to infrastructure. It also confirms the increase in the efficiency of interaction between all participants in the transportation process: from the carrier company to the supervisory authorities. The article proposes a regulation for processing documentation using electronic document management, which includes the use of mobile workstations; the importance of the spread of digital services to the process of intermodal transportation of goods and, as a result, the increase in the reliability of such transportation is argued. The results obtained are of an applied nature, since they propose and justify a number of measures aimed at enhancing the electronic interaction of participants in the process of cargo transportation.