Increases in the use of rail transport, improvements in railway safety, and the growth in freight turnover depend in many ways on the quality of the rails. An examination is made of measures being taken to improve the practice and increase the quality and service life of rails, as reflected in reports given at a meeting of the Interdepartmental Commission on improving the quality and service of railway rails and fastenings, held in Zhdanov in September 1987. The basic lines of future research to improve rail quality are outlined.