Research approaches and principles of integral index formation in the railway sector

This article discusses scientific publications on the topic of assessing the level of development of the railway industry, from which the key approaches for the formation of integral indices in the transport sector in general and the railway in particular are highlighted. The author analyzed such integral indices as: Indicators for benchmarking and monitoring of transport infrastructure (Sweden), Index of reliability of railway infrastructure and rolling stock (Norway), Index of metro safety assessment (China). Details were provided to show how the respective estimates were made, including weighting methods and aggregation methods. The result of the study is a summary analysis of the considered evaluation methods. The author gave an assessment of the prospects of using integral indices to analyze the level of innovative development of the railway infrastructure.