Dear friends
MAFEX turns 15. This 15th anniversary will be celebrated in a very special manner, as it symbolises a wide-ranging history filled with challenges and major accomplishments. Sixteen companies embarked upon, on September 16, 2004, their pathway to boosting internationalisation.
Fifteen years later, MAFEX, comprising 86 partners, is the flagship association of the Spanish railway sector. Its consolidated position is endorsed through intense activities involving representation and defence of the railway sector, thanks, especially, to the trust that you have always placed in us.
Our aim is to continue to offer a high-quality service contributing added value to the activities undertaken by associate companies and to work further towards accomplishing an industry at the cutting-edge in terms of international innovation, whilst also being highly competitive, being thus able to support it in new challenges, such as digital transformation and the changes to the global market.
In this issue, we will unveil other topics of interest, namely the appraisal of the 15th General Meeting, progress made over the last year, as well as the incorporation of new partners and the evolution of activities for the 20192020 timeframe.
Furthermore, a report is included on developments at the 7th International Railway Convention, which this year featured Malaga as its location between June 3 to 5. This professional platform has as its aim the analysis of projects and investments planned in the nations that back the railway as a means of transport, and to learn first-hand about the different technological solutions developed in our industry to see how best to respond to current needs
Once again, it was very well received and managed to bring together delegates from 30 countries and more than 120 senior officials from Spanish companies and bodies, therein holding more than 550 meetings.
With regard to the regular sections that comprise the issue, the section “Our Partners” displays the current situation of 23 firms, who unveil their latest innovations, as well as the adjudications of tenders for national and international projects.
Furthermore, the section entitled “Destination” contains a broad report devoted to Scandinavian countries. Sweden, Denmark and Norway progress towards a cutting-edge railway, with major investment plans, both in terms of infrastructure, as well as the digitisation of their services.
In the section “In Depth” the project “Wales and Borders” is tackled in detail. Wales and its coastal region will undergo a major boost in the coming years that will result in more and improved railway connections. In these pages, you will be able to learn more about the overhaul of the entire network and its plans for the future.
In the section entitled “Innovation” in this issue, the unveiling of the RailActivation project contained within the Horizon 2020 programme is particularly noteworthy, recently awarded to a consortium spearheaded by MAFEX. Likewise, seven MAFEX companies display their most recent progress in the sphere of R&D.”
We hope that this special issue is of interest to you and provides you with a complete overview of the current situation affecting the sector, as well as allowing you to learn first-hand the present state-of-play in the railway industry and the contribution made by Spanish firms to its development the world over.
Thank you once again for trusting in us.