On 5 December 2025, a thematic meeting of the Scientific Council of JSC “Institute for Transport Economics and Development” (IEDT) was held, focused on the development of methods for efficient management and assessment of the impact of surplus freight car fleets on the performance indicators of the railway network.

The meeting featured scientific presentations on the following topics:

On certain debatable theoretical and methodological aspects of calculating the required freight car fleet. The presentation was delivered by a well-known industry scholar Farid Iosifovich Khusainov (PhD in Economics, Expert at the Institute for the Economics and Regulation of Infrastructure Industries, HSE University).

Methods and approaches to effective management of a gondola car fleet within a specified railway area. The report, presenting the results of the author’s dissertation research, was delivered by Dmitry Anatolyevich Khodykin (Deputy Head of the Sales Department for Operational Activities, JSC “First Freight Company”).

On the impact of surplus freight car fleets on the operational performance of Russian Railways (RZD). The presentation, including the results of applying new methodological approaches and recommendations for addressing current applied research challenges, was delivered by Andrey Fedorovich Borodin (Doctor of Engineering Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department for Technological Support of Automated Systems and Simulation Modeling, IEDT).

The proposals presented by the speakers on the development of calculation methods and practical tools to improve the efficiency of freight car fleet management at the network level were approved by the members of the IEDT Scientific Council and invited industry practitioners.