Yet again we are about to amaze you with a high-level of interesting contents and great new things on the horizon.

Our journey through Latin America continues with an in-depth report on Ecuador, a country where, under the leadership of Rafael Correa Delgado’s government, an incredibly ambitious project is underway to revitalize the railway network and turn it into a valuable tourist and cultural resource.

This is why, as well as interviewing the Deputy Chief Executive of FEEP (Ferrocarriles del Ecuador Empresa Publica – Ecuadorian Railways Company), we also met up with Paola Gálvez Izquieta, Subsecretaria de Gestión del Ministerio de Turismo (Undersecretary for the Management of the Ministry of Tourism). In fact it is the latter’s organization which in April 2008, together with the Ministry for Heritage, took on the responsibility of revamping and promoting the Ecuadorian rail network, now a recognized cultural heritage asset.

But we didn’t stop there: we also met Quito’s deputy mayor, Jorge Alban, who gave us a detailed insight into the plans to start building the country’s first ever metro line, a project of fundamental importance for a city with an exceptionally high population density afflicted by major setbacks caused by traffic congestion.

Returning to Italy, we have added another piece to our investigation into Italian railways operating on a concession: this month we take a look at the Ferrovie Appulo Lucane (F.A.L.) which operates services between Apulia and Basilicata on a 183-km narrow gauge network.
We interviewed Matteo Colamussi, Chairman of the BoD who told us how the company, until just recently considered the Cinderella of the Apulian railways, has managed to launch an important plan for modernizing the structures and rolling stock, also thanks to financing from the Apulia Region which for many years has been committed to developing rail transport..

Finally, this issue wouldn’t be the same without the usual chat with a member of top management from the RFI Technical Department.  This time we spoke to engineer Giuseppe Arcoleo, the person in charge of the Struttura Operativa Armamento ed Opere Civili, who gave us an accurate description of the activities it performs to ensure that the infrastructure made available for services is always safe and in the best possible condition, both in terms of regularity and productivity.

So, as usual this issue is jam-packed with interesting and exclusive articles.
In keeping with the best traditions of our magazine, to celebrate the third year of publication, we have decided to give our readers a totally renovated web portal www.railwayengineering.it with even more exclusive contents.
Furthermore, as of the next issue, Railway Engineering will be available in a new digital format: modern, easy to access and eco-friendly. Giving you something more every day!

Joins us therefore, in this new adventure and hurry to get your personal access data by writing to info@railwayengineering.it!