The study deals with distribution of freight cars of various forms of ownership within the railway network. Some variants of rail network topology were analysed by applying the graph theory and considering complexity of distribution of cars belonging to forwarding companies by routes. The railway subsystem itself should be considered as a compromise between its stability and flexibility. Thus, optimization model which formalizes technological process of freight car fleet management of operator companies has been developed. The objective of the given model is presented in the form of total operating cost and relevant set of constraints that takes into account technological conditions of route formation. On the basis of the systematic approach it has been proved that the increase of railway transport competitiveness is possible provided the railway subsystem acquired invariance properties. The mode optimization model adequately reflects the terms of transportation process, ensures the reduction of transportation costs under the condition of satisfaction of clients’ requirements and provides for the formation of computer-aided fleet management technology for cars of different forms of ownership. Taking into account the theory of computational complexity, it is reasonable to choose heuristic method based on mathematical apparatus of genetic algorithms to obtain the optimal car distribution plan according to the routes.