<p>One of the tasks of ensuring the safe and sustainable operation of railway transport is to assess the life cycle of rails. Currently, the main reason for their failure is the development of defects due to contact with the wheels of rolling stock. Modern approaches to predicting railroad rails’ wear and fatigue life are based on the kinetic damage theory. Such forecasts are based on calculating the three-dimensional stress-strain state of rails under the influence of a combination of external forces and temperature effects. The complexity of these tasks is associated with the need to consider the contact interaction between rails and rolling stock wheels, as well as the design features of the railroad track. To solve such problems, both analytical and various numerical methods are used, including the finite element method. The analytical solution of the contact problem is considered in detail, as these results are used to formulate boundary condition models in the finite element method calculation schemes and assess the accuracy of numerical calculations. The peculiarities of constructing computational schemes for the problem of contact interaction between rails and wheels are considered. The primary focus is on evaluating the impact of specific design parameters of the rail track on the magnitude and distribution of stresses in the contact zone. Specific examples show how the value of maximum equivalent stresses varies depending on the angle of inclination of the rail sole to the base, the width of the railroad track, and the elevation of the outer rail on curved sections of the track. The influence of the profiles of rolling surfaces of rails and wheels of rolling stock on the level of contact stresses is considered. The results will be useful for understanding the physical processes of damage accumulation, the occurrence and development of defects in rails, as well as for developing methods for predicting the contact-fatigue endurance of these important elements of railway infrastructure.</p>