6th training on commuter and regional train services

Dr. Georgia Ayfantopoulou, Research Director at the Hellenic Institute of Transport (ΗΙΤ) of CERTH with experience for over 25 years in transport systems planning, management and optimization. Always focusing on new technology implementation, as enabler for transforming transport and mobility systems, her work emphases on:
a) ITS, C-ITS for transport demand and traffic management,
b) Big Data analytics and c) modelling and decision support tools for Sustainable Mobility, Multimodality, Intermodality and city logistics.
She is coordinating the Thessaloniki Smart Mobility Living Lab, an ecosystem approach for data sharing, knowledge creation and innovation uptake in mobility, promoting also implementation of Maas applications.

Michael is the Vice President of Rolling Stock at DSB, the Danish State Railways, where he is in charge of the rolling stock fleet and also the company’s railway infrastructure. This includes integration of new rolling stock, disposal of old rolling stock, investment planning and contract management of the maintenance contracts. Before coming to DSB, Michael worked at Bombardier Transportation in various roles, including portfolio head for tram projects and Group Vice President for Strategy.

Digital marketing consultant in Accenture Song. Along her career in marketing - started in 2016 - she deepened her expertise in social media strategy, working for a wide range of industries, including Travel & Transportation and Public Administration sectors. She collaborates with Trenitalia Regionale to support the brand’s social media project, by supervising brand reputation monitoring and assuring the correct functioning of social care technologies. Graduated in Economy, she then took a master in Marketing Management at LUISS Business School in Rome and a course in International Marketing and Logistics at ESSCA School of Management in Budapest.

Luc Favre has been working for 15 years for SNCF exclusively in the passenger rail field (mass-transit, regional and long-distance). He held different positions at both operational and strategic levels. He has assumed managing positions as well as support positions at headquarters. Luc is customer-oriented and focused on improving customer satisfaction.

In Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane - then Trenitalia - since 1998, she is head of PSO (Public Service Obligation)’s contracts, Fares, Terms and Conditions for the Regional Business and Intermodality development Department. She has been involved in many international activities within the UIC and UITP Associations. Currently she is Chairwoman for the Commuter and Regional Train Services group in UIC and member of Urban, Suburban, Regional Railways Committee in UITP.
From 2008 to 2011 she was professor of Transport at the University Sapienza in Rome.
Graduated in Architecture (Urban and regional planning), she studied in the University Sapienza in Rome, the Oxford Brooks University (UK) and the Savaria Urbanisztikai Nyari Egyetem (HU). Then she took the 1st master on Regional Public Transport by Politecnico di Milano and ISFORT and then a master in Economics and Politics of Transport at the University Sapienza in Rome.

Adj.Prof. Dr. Andrea Giuricin is CEO of TRA consulting, a strategic consultancy company based in Barcelona and Milan with international customers from Europe, Middle East, Asia, America working with the top management (CEO and President) in the strategic and operational decisions.
He created the “studies office” for the CEO of Italo-NTV, the first private high speed rail company in open access competition and he worked in the first HSR markets open to the competition (Italy, South Korea, Spain and France) as strategic and operational consultant for the CEOs and top managers of the Railway companies. He is working with several other project in the rail industry, including rail freight operators and infrastructure managers.
He is senior transport consultant for the World Bank, reforming transport sector in Asia and Africa and for the United Nations. In the last years he was speaker at International Transport Forum of OECD.
He is teaching Transport Economics at University Milano Bicocca in Italy. In the same University he is responsible for the development of transport studies at CESISP – Unimib and he is adj. Prof. at University of Southern California, United States. He is also former visiting professor at China Academy of Railway Sciences, the leader organization in the world for the railway industry. He is also professor at UIC (International Association of Railways).
Dr. Andrea Giuricin cooperates and works with several Transport Authorities (CNMC in Spain, ART in Italy, CMA in UK, LATRA Tanzania, SPAD in Malaysia, RSR in South Africa), with the European Commission and European Railway Agency.

Marc Guigon is Passenger Director at UIC (International Union of Railways).
He joined UIC in June 2012 and is responsible for Passengers activities, including development of High-Speed Rail in the world, Railway Stations, Ticket Distribution, Regional and Commuter Train Services and Tourism in Trains.
He is also coordinator of UIC Middle East and Latin-American Regions, involved in the development of railways in these countries, coordinating studies and projects. He is also supporting the coordinator of Asia-Pacific Region.
Prior to joining UIC, Marc worked 7 years for the office of the French Prime Minister, responsible for French national policies of transport in the field of spatial planning including railways, roads, urban transport, airports, ports and waterways. He was also the central point of coordination between the French Central Government and one French Province for all topics concerning spatial planning and development.
He was also responsible of intergovernmental cooperation between France and China on spatial planning.
Lastly, Marc has a solid background in Railway Activities having managed French rolling stock workshops, research teams, and freight departments at the French Railways (SNCF).

• UITP Regional and Suburban Railways Committee.
• Committee on Commuter and Regional Rail Services of the UIC.
• ALAMYS Steering Committee

He is a member of the following permanent working groups:

• Observatory of Civic Behaviour in Rail Transport, which coordinates, with representation from all operators of railway and tram systems in Spain.
• Working Group of Experts on Railway Operations, coordinated with the collaboration of the Spanish Railways Foundation
• ATUC Accessibility Working Group
• MoU UITP-International Trade Federation Coordination Group

Teaching:

• Lecturer of the "General Land Transport Course" of the Spanish Railways Foundation, in the module "Operation of regional lines"
• Coordinating lecturer of the subject "Technical Exploitation of Railway Infrastructures" of the "Master in Railway Systems and Electric Traction" of the UPC
• Lecturer of the "Master of Planning and Management of Mobility" of the UPC
• Lecturer of Commuter and Regional train services Training at UIC

Senior Legal Advisor, CIT
After studies in law at the University of Mainz (Germany) and Genoa (Italy) Nina Scherf specialised in “International Private and Procedural Law” and “International Public Law” before passing her first and second German State examination in law. In addition, she completed a Master of Laws degree (LL.M.) in “Negotiating and designing contracts“.
Ms. Scherf worked at Deutsche Bahn in Frankfurt am Main before joining the CIT in the end of 2014 where she works as Senior Legal Adviser, leading passenger and infrastructure sections.

London-based since 2016, Ernesto acts as Managing Director of Trenitalia UK Ltd. He has led operations for the company’s entry into the UK rail market when it acquired Essex train operator c2c in February 2017.
In partnership with First Group, Ernesto has led on the winning tender for West Coast Partnership awarded in August 2019 and since December 2019, he sits in the Board of the Joint Venture which manages the Avanti West Coast services connecting London with towns and cities across England, North Wales and Scotland. Since 2021 he serves as UK Country Manager for Ferrovie dello Stato, owning group of Trenitalia.
Ernesto has worked for Ferrovie dello Stato Group since 2001 covering a several different roles. Before leading Trenitalia’s UK branch, he has spent five years as Trenitalia Chief Strategy Officer.
In his career he developed skills in middle/long-term planning, investment evaluation, M&A projects, PSO contracts, market analysis, strategic marketing, digital strategies and sustainability
Recently he also acted as International Business Director of Trenitalia, supporting the launch of high speed services in France and Spain, with core responsibility for integration process of European subsidiaries, covering for multi-markets: France, Germany, Greece, Spain and UK.
Before joining FS Group, Ernesto has worked for ENI, Italian leading energy company, for 10 years, where he has been involved in planning, investment and strategy activities included IPO process.
Ernesto was born in 1963, and graduated in Statistics and Economics at Unversity of Rome, and holds an MBA.

• Commercial Director for Passenger Transportation at HELLENIC TRAIN S.A. In railways sector since 2004.
• PSO Contract Manager for Hellenic Train, PSO Committee member
• Chairman of SERG (UIC South-East Europe Railway Group for passengers)
• Member of the Steering Committee at UIC Passenger Services Group (PSG)
• Member of the UIC Task Force for Covid-19 and other Groups of UIC
• Member of CIT, FTE RU Ambassador Passenger Transportation

  Previous experience:

• Superintendent Engineer and Director of Quality and Safety Management Systems in the International Maritime and Shipping
• Plant Director at Food Industry and Logistics
• Freelancer as Mechanical and Marine Engineer
• Software development

  Studies:

• Diploma (MEng) Naval Architect, Marine - Mechanical Engineer
• MBA (HR & Economics)
• MSc in Applied Economics and Finance