The department "Railway cars and railway car maintenance" was founded in 1930. It is a graduate department and is currently teaching students in the following programs and majors:

1. Specialist – 23.05.03 Railway Rolling-Stock, major "Railway Cars";
2. Bachelor – 12.03.01 Instrument Engineering, major "Devices and Methods of Quality Control and Diagnostics";
3. Master – 23.04.02 Overland Transport and Technological Complexes, major “Railway Cars”.

The department educates highly qualified scientific and teaching staff on the postgraduate level:

1. 23.06.01 Engineering and Technology of Land Transport, major "Railway Rolling-Stock, Hauling Operations and Electrification";
2. 09.06.01 Computer Science and Computer Facilities, focus "Mathematical Modeling, Numerical Methods and Program Complexes."

The department takes an active part in solving many modern problems of railway transport, both in the region and generally over the country's railway network. Scientific work of the department is determined by the cross-cutting theme "Improving efficiency and reliability of railway cars and their units in operation."

The faculty has published a number of monographs. In-university and inter-university thematic collections of scientific papers are regularly published, its staff takes part in of all-Russian and international scientific-practical and scientific-technical conferences annually. Department staff prepare materials on inventive work: on average, 5-6 patents for a utility model and invention are registered annually.

The main directions of scientific work:

1. construction of a theoretical and experimental base for the study of the tribotechnical characteristics of railroad cars;
2. improvement of cooling and air conditioning systems as applied to rolling stock;
3. development of advanced technical means and methods of non-destructive testing and diagnosis of components and assemblies of rolling stock in order to ensure their operational reliability;
4. development and implementation of energy and resource saving technologies in the railway car maintenance to ensure high quality repair and maintenance of railway cars and their units using modern means of mechanization and automation of technological processes;
5. development of a mathematical model of the processes for cleaning parts and assemblies of rolling stock and the creation of optimal technologies on its basis;
6. quality certification of repair production (together with the department "Transport Economics, Logistics and Quality Management").

Employees of the department in 2011 participated in the assessment of the possibility of using technologies for building cars in China at domestic car-building plants.

 Among the graduates of the department who have achieved outstanding success in work are the following:

6 heads and deputy heads of the departments of the railway cars and passenger facilities;

1. 4 heads of railway departments, deputy heads of railways;
2. 8 chiefs of railway management services;
3. 10 chief engineers of railway services;
4. 50 heads of railway car depots;
5. CEO of Baltic Construction Company;
6. 4 vice-rectors, deans of faculties, heads of departments.

The department conducts education in full-time and part-time forms of education.

Teachers of the department publish a large amount of methodological developments and educational literature, lecture notes. Professor V.V. Lukin, who headed the department from 1969 to 1973 and from 1978 to 1997, was the editor of textbooks “Design and Calculation of Wagons” (published in 2000) and “Wagons. General course” (published in 2004).

Teachers of the department supervise the course and diploma design, academic training and work experience internship at the enterprises of the railway network. Students perform graduate qualification works on relevant topics on production assignments.

The department traditionally directs the creative work of students. The main area of work is the development of the latest technologies for repair, operation and maintenance of non-traction rolling stock, the development of the laboratory base of the department.