It’s all happening in Milan as preparations go ahead for the Universal Expo 2015. We at Railway Engineering wanted to focus our attention on this area, where the organization and management of transport systems needed for the large numbers of visitors expected from all over the world is going to be crucial. So we have set out upon a new season of interviews dedicated to the role of department head of the Italian rail junctions beginning with the Maintenance and Operations Department of the RFI (Italian Rail Network) in Milan.

Here we met Engineer Umberto Lebruto, who not only told us all about the competences and activities carried out by his structure, but also described for us the numerous investments which Rete Ferroviaria Italiana has underway or will soon be activating to make the infrastructure even more efficient. These are very specific and technical investments which are fundamental for making sure that everything runs as smoothly as possible.

Then we also took into consideration the field of urban transport by interviewing Engineer Marco Broglia, head of the Transportation System Design Department of Metropolitana Milanese S.p.A., a company which entered the history books of Milan public transport when it built the city’s first metro line fifty years ago.

It is an important company in the Italian and international market thanks to its high level of technical proficiencies. Its activities in the engineering and building phase of works is fundamental for being able to create an infrastructure which lives up to expectations.

From Milan we then set off for the first of two stops which took us to Mexico where we met two of the most important railway operators: Ferromex and Kansas City Southern de México.

Ferromex is the railway undertaking which holds a concession to run the largest section of the Mexican railway network, with over 8,100 km of track, and has a crucial role in freight transport and for rail links with the United States.

The Kansas City Southern de México (KCSM) undertaking is also linked to the United States because it is controlled by an American company, the Kansas City Southern (KCS), with which if forms a large freight railway undertaking which runs services between the two countries.

Both told us how the two companies have reached important goals and about their future developments.

So I shall leave you to enjoy your magazine and read the many interesting facts which you can find in this issue. Don’t miss the next edition of Railway Engineering.