Railway excellence: Italferr at Pietrarsa for the annual CIFI event
Awards assigned to the best papers published in 2023 and to the best university degree theses
On 5 July 2024, the picturesque setting of the Pietrarsa National Railway Museum hosted the Society of Italian Railway Engineers (CIFI) Day, an annual event that brought together members, industry experts and young talent for a day dedicated to railway excellence.
The event culminated with the awards ceremony for the best scientific papers published in 2023 and CIFI scholarships announced in 2023 for the 2021-2022 academic year.
Italferr, an engineering company of the FS Group's Infrastructure Hub, was among the protagonists of the day that began with a tribute to members who reached the 40-year milestone of membership in CIFI, recognizing their contribution and dedication to the railway engineering community.
Next, prizes were awarded for the best papers published in 2023 in the specialized journals published by CIFI, "Ingegneria Ferroviaria (Railway Engineering)" and "La Tecnica Professionale (Professional Technique)," underscoring the importance of research and scientific dissemination in the railway industry.
Distinguished among the awardees were Guido Guidi Buffarini, Engineer and Head of the Operating Unit Technology Design of the Design Department of Italferr, and his team composed of Engineers Nicola Carones, Roberto Consalvi and Giovanni Trezza, who received an award for their highly relevant scientific paper entitled "Technical-economic study to evaluate the implementation of a new technology electric-hybrid (emission-free) train with on-board energy storage system," published in the May 2023 edition of the magazine "La Tecnica Professionale." The study proposes an innovative methodology for evaluating the use of electric-hybrid trains with on-board energy storage system on currently non-electrified low traffic lines, envisaging only partial electrification of the section and so avoiding interventions on existing civil engineering works incompatible with the installation of the overhead contact line.
This was followed by the presentation of scholarships to the winners of the CIFI 2023 Call for Papers for the best dissertations for the academic years 2021-2022. These awards are an important incentive for young engineers and a certificate of merit for their academic efforts.
Once again, Italferr distinguished itself: in fact, the Commission in charge of evaluating the theses chose that of Engineer Gabriele La Corte, from the TID Spoke & Digital Rail Infrastructure Development Department, as the winner of the "Montermini Scholarship." The thesis, titled "Potential of the BIM Approach for Rail Superstructure Maintenance Management," demonstrated how the use of modern methodologies can revolutionize the maintenance of rail infrastructure by improving the organization of maintenance interventions. Starting from the monitoring and control of the railway superstructure using diagnostic trains, the thesis proposes to transform the survey subject into an "intelligent object," equipped with all the necessary information to implement maintenance processes.
Both awards, conferred respectively by the Deputy Editor of "La Tecnica Professionale" magazine, Engineer Francesco Franzè of the TID Spoke & Digital Rail Infrastructure Development Department, and by the president of CIFI Servizi, Engineer Matteo Maria Triglia, confirm our company's excellence in the field of railway engineering.
The CIFI Day at the Pietrarsa National Railway Museum was an opportunity to emphasize the importance of training and research for the future of the industry, and to highlight how Italferr continues to be a company of reference for the entire railway community.
