Italy is still the only country in the world where a private open-access operator competes with the state-owned incumbent on its high-speed network. As Andrea Giuricin, CEO of TRA Consulting and strategic advisor to NTV explains, competition has given passengers more choice and high-quality services, even if it hasn’t been plain sailing for the newcomer.

Despite making bold promises for its commuter network in a series of projects, Chilean State Railways’ (EFE) plans are failing to live up to expectations, as regional editor Ian Thomson-Newman explains.

Following a few false starts, Lima’s metro network is gradually taking shape. Ian Thomson-Newman visits the Peruvian capital where he traces the Lima metro story.

UNTIL the start of operations on its metro Line 1 in January 2012, Lima was the largest city in the world with no passenger train service of any kind.

With a population currently soaring beyond 8.5 million, by the turn of the century metropolitan Lima’s roads had become clogged with unregulated buses and minibuses, and imported second-hand cars sold at knocked-down prices.

During the 2000s, Peru’s average GDP growth rate was 6% annually which, in spite of the steady reorganisation and regulation of bus services and restrictions on used car imports, meant that determined action was needed to keep journey times at acceptable levels. At the same time, Lima’s international airport, which was by then managed privately and brought up to international standards, had become a bludgeoning regional hub, enabling the city to compete with Santiago, Buenos Aires and São Paulo as a business centre for South America.

Yet with each of these cities boasting several metro lines, the time had come for Lima to install its own rail-based mass transit services on high demand corridors.

Plans for a Lima metro network had been around since the mid-1960s, and construction of the south-to-north Line 1 started in 1986, during Mr Alan García´s first spell as the country´s president.

The Autonomous Authority for Electric Mass Transport for Lima and El Callao (AATE) was created to administer the metro project, and five six-car AnsaldoBreda trains were delivered and, under the aegis of AATE, they commenced trial running. This was over a 9km stretch, starting from the southerly, low-income, suburb of Villa El Salvador to Atocongo which was nearer but not absolutely close to the city centre, or any other area of attraction. Hence, the stretch was of little use to the travelling public and was not placed into normal commercial service.

With the available financing used up, and succeeding governments more laissez-faire orientated, the operable stretch of line remained stuck at Atocongo. Only in 2010 did construction restart and by January 2012, the line was opened as far as Miguel Grau, a station within easy reach of the city centre. By July 2014, the complete 35km line was in service, running from its northern terminus at Bayóvar in San Juan de Lurigancho, another low-income suburb.

Rio de Janeiro was set to open the next phase of the Porto Maravilha light rail network as IRJ went to press, and as Kevin Smith reports, it is already proving a successful legacy project of the 2016 Olympic Games.

After decades of decline, the government of Argentina has drawn up plans to invest $US 16.6bn in the country’s railway network by 2023. Keith Barrow explains how international expertise - and finance - will play a vital role in realising this bold vision.

Disruptions to railway operations are always bad news, but when caused by suicide, it literally stops you in your tracks. What can be done? Anitra Green reports on recent developments in Switzerland.

HUBER and Suhner announced on November 21 that it is extending its portfolio of roof-top antennas with the new five-port Sencity Rail multiple input, multiple output (Mimo) antenna.

British operators are having to radically rethink their approach to station design and management to tackle capacity challenges and respond to the changing needs and expectations of passengers. Interserve transport director Kevin Murgatroyd considers what lessons could be drawn from their approach for others contemplating station upgrade plans.