The Russian Federation by its geographical position is a maritime power that had been occupying a leading position until a certain period of time. All the processes taking place in Russia during the transition period to a market economy negatively affected the country's maritime activities. In recent years, Russia has been making serious efforts to regain the leading position of a maritime power. In all the areas of maritime activities the Russian Federation provides support to domestic sectors of the economy using modern economic mechanisms for innovative development in order to increase the competitiveness of domestic business structures. One of the directions in the formation of a new structure of the Russian economy is the creation of state corporations, the merger of enterprises, the introduction of the cluster approach to the spatial integration of business entities located in separate territories. In their article the authors suggested using modern mechanisms of increasing the efficiency of the elements of the transport system of the coastal regions in the North of Russia for enterprises with single and small-scale production, which include shipbuilding and ship repair enterprises, using clustering as an effective mechanism to increase competitiveness, both in the domestic and foreign markets. The paper analyzes the use of modern economic mechanisms, such as joint ventures and the cluster approach in the shipbuilding industry of Russia, estimates the current state of ship repair enterprises in the coastal region of the North of Russia and proposes a conceptual approach to create a cluster of ship repair enterprises in the Murmansk region in order to satisfy the need for ship repair services, the volume of which has increased recently in all coastal regions of the North of Russia.

Background: The formation of mechanisms for sustainable development of the transport system of Russia should be aimed at improving its competitiveness. Aim: Development of technical and economic foundations for improving the efficiency of the transport system of Russia, on the example of railway transport. Methods: Theoretical methods of scientific research were used to achieve the goal: analysis, synthesis and modeling. Results: The original concept of "Coincidental freight transportation" with the necessity of technical modernization of freight cars is offered. The concepts of a coincidental route and a coincidental wagon are analyzed, and application of the mathematical apparatus for economic evaluation of the results is recommended.