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Advancing low-carbon rail in Latin America: “Transporte rumbo a la COP30”

Last week, Felipe Castro Arenas presented at “Transporte rumbo a la COP30” (Transport on the Road to COP30 Brazil), an event organised by the Ministry of Transport of Colombia to explore how the transport sector can contribute to achieving national and global climate goals.

The event brought together government officials, international partners, and industry experts to discuss the pathways to decarbonisation, the adoption of clean technologies, and the governance frameworks needed to deliver a more sustainable transport system.

Drawing on Crossrail International’s collaboration with UK PACT (Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions), Felipe shared global best practices and practical examples of how international standards such as PAS 2080 and early engagement with the supply chain can help reduce carbon emissions across all stages of project delivery; from design through to operation.

He also highlighted Colombia’s strategic opportunity to become a regional leader in low-carbon transport, positioning rail reactivation as a platform for innovation, investment, and green job creation. By embedding sustainability into infrastructure planning and delivery, Colombia can not only meet its climate targets but also stimulate long-term economic growth.

The session underscored how strategic collaboration and knowledge exchange can accelerate the transition towards a more sustainable, inclusive, and low-carbon transport future; both in Colombia and across Latin America.

At Crossrail International, we are proud to collaborate with partners across the region to advance sustainable rail, support effective governance, and share the UK’s experience in delivering cleaner, more resilient transport systems. Through continued partnerships and technical cooperation, we aim to help governments and industry deliver projects that contribute to a greener and more connected future.

Keith Wallace

CHAIR & NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Keith Wallace was appointed Chairman of Crossrail International in June 2021.

A Chartered Director and Chartered Engineer, Keith has over 40 years of experience in the rail industry, including 20 years’ leadership experience at executive board level.

Keith commenced his career with British Rail as a sponsored student and graduate trainee, where he gained a thorough grounding in railway engineering and operations. He then moved into consultancy before joining what was then Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick & Partners as its first rail specialist, rising to become Chief Executive of Scott Wilson Railways and serving on the Executive Committee of Scott Wilson prior to its acquisition by URS Corporation, which in turn was acquired by AECOM.

Keith chaired URS/Scott Wilson’s Crossrail Programme Board overseeing the company’s £70m design contracts on Crossrail, including Paddington and Farringdon Stations, as well as leading multi-disciplinary teams in the planning and design of major rail projects that included the East London Line Extension, Airdrie to Bathgate Rail Link and West Coast Route Modernisation (WCRM) in the UK; the Athens Metro Extension in Greece; and the HSL Zuid high-speed railway in The Netherlands. He has visited more than 30 countries on rail business, gaining a keen understanding of differing cultures and practices.

As an independent consultant, Keith performed a Project Representative review, on behalf of the UK Department for Transport, of the proposed £20bn Phase 2 of High Speed 2 (HS2), Europe’s largest infrastructure project. He also served as Programme Director for Govia Thameslink Railway on the Thameslink Project; Managing Director of Serco Caledonian Sleeper; and spent one year as Chairman of Merseyrail (Serco/Abellio JV), adding to his experience and knowledge of railway operations and major rail change programmes.

Keith holds a BSc (Hons) in Civil Engineering from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh where he later served as Member of Court, the University’s governing body, and was a member of the Audit and Risk Committee. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation, and the Royal Society of Arts.

Keith is also a non-executive director of Dublin Bus, a bus operator in Dublin, Ireland; and Scottish Autism, a charity organisation dedicated to enabling autistic people to lead happy, healthy and fulfilling lives.

Felipe Castro Arenas

Regional Director, Colombia

Felipe Castro Arenas is Crossrail International’s (CI’s) Country Director for Colombia. Based in Bogotá, he is responsible for the management of CI’s commissions and the creation of new business opportunities throughout the country, as well as the Latin American region.

Felipe has 20 years of experience in the engineering and construction industries, with recent focus on the development of Colombia’s road and rail infrastructure. Prior to joining CI in April 2023, he spent five years at the British Embassy Colombia in Bogotá as Infrastructure Adviser for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s UK-Colombia Prosperity Programme to support economic development, unlock economic opportunities, and drive growth in Colombia’s regions. Felipe was responsible for delivering the programme’s objectives around rail and urban development in Colombia, managing agreements with development banks, implementing partners, and leading the adaptation and adoption of UK tools for quality infrastructure development, including BIM (Building Information Modelling), HM Treasury’s Five Case Model (for Business Cases), and the Infrastructure and Project Authority’s (IPA’s) Project Routemap for complex, major projects.

Since the passing of Law 1508 in 2012, Colombia’s first Public-Private Partnership (PPP) law, Felipe has specialised in the technical, financial and legal assessment of infrastructure projects for attracting private investment. As Technical Adviser at Colombia’s National Infrastructure Agency (Agencia Nacional de Infraestructura, ANI), he successfully led the appraisals and approvals processes of the first unsolicited PPP proposals under the new law. These included two of the most complex 30+ years highway concessions crossing the Andes Mountains – between Bogotá and Villavicencio, and Ibagué and Cajamarca – which paved the way for these types of schemes to represent almost a third of the portfolio of the country’s transformational Fourth Generation (4G) Roads Concession Programme, a large-scale plan to create a nationwide toll road network with private sector participation.

Earlier in his career, Felipe spent time with a variety of Colombian contracting and manufacturing firms, specialising in innovative civil/structural engineering and construction of buildings and infrastructure.

He holds a BSc in Civil Engineering from the Julio Garavito School of Engineering (Escuela Colombiana de Ingeniería ‘Julio Garavito’) in Bogotá and an MSc in Construction Management and Engineering from the Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands. In 2013, selected by the US Embassy in Bogotá, Felipe completed the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), a professional exchange program funded by the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Kate Myers

Director and Expert Adviser, Capacity Building

Kate Myers is an expert in capacity building, skills employment and education, and social impact. She has over 20 years’ experience in UK government and major rail projects, including stakeholder relations, communications, delivery, policy and strategy.

Prior to joining Crossrail International in November 2021, Kate was Head of Skills, Employment & Education (SEE) at High Speed 2 Ltd, the company responsible for the delivery of HS2, the UK’s new high-speed railway linking London, the Midlands, the North and Scotland, currently Europe’s largest infrastructure project. During her five-and-a-half years on the project, she was responsible for delivering the objectives of the SEE Strategy, ensuring the supply chain met skills and employment requirements, tackling critical skills shortages and leading the HS2 Education programme.

Kate extensive knowledge, skills and expertise in the rail infrastructure sector includes seven years at Crossrail where she led the Young Crossrail STEM programme, established and chaired an industry-wide Transport and Infrastructure Education Partnership, developed a suite of training programmes to drive forward Crossrail’s equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) agenda, and devised and launched the Crossrail Apprentice Awards.

She had previously served as Crossrail’s Marketing and Communications Manager (Skills), working closely with the Chairman (Sir Terry Morgan CBE), as well as with the Department for Transport (DfT) and Transport for London (TfL) as joint sponsors. Kate produced the Crossrail Skills and Employment Strategy and chaired the Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy (TUCA) Communications Steering Group.

Prior to joining HS2, Kate was seconded to the DfT as a Senior Policy Advisor where she was a key member of the pan-industry team created to deliver the DfT’s Transport Infrastructure Skills Strategy (TISS). She has also worked for Transport for London (TfL) and held a number of positions in the civil service.

Kate holds a BA (Hons) in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford. She later went on to gain an MA in Social and Cultural History from the University of Essex before completing a Crossrail-sponsored Executive MBA at London Business School, focused on Leadership and Management, Influencing and Negotiation, and Behavioural Economics.

David Miller

Operations Director

David Miller is Operations Director for Crossrail International (CI), responsible for ensuring the operational performance of the company as well as leading CI’s governance framework and relationship with the Department for Transport (DfT) shareholder. He has 14 years’ experience working in UK central government, during which time he has held a series of policy and strategy roles covering differing portfolios and policy areas, all aimed at generating the greatest economic benefit for the UK.

Prior to joining CI, David was Senior Policy Adviser, Export and Investment Policy, at the Department for International Trade (DIT) where he delivered a major government strategy and series of programmes defining the UK’s future approach to exports. He also took the lead for Northern Ireland exports and investment, managing DIT relationships with the Northern Ireland Executive and Invest Northern Ireland, the country’s regional economic development agency.

In 2013, David joined the Department for Transport (DfT) to develop the growth and regeneration programme for High Speed 2 (HS2) – the UK’s new 345-mile, high speed railway line under development, which will run between London and Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds – to secure wider benefits from this major infrastructure investment. Having established and managed the secretariat functions for the Taskforce report and produced the government’s response, David led policy development and business case production to establish a government-owned regeneration company.

As a member of DfT’s Maritime team, he managed the successful production, launch and implementation of the Maritime Growth Study report in relation to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), an executive agency of the DfT responsible for preventing the loss of lives at sea and for implementing British and International maritime law and safety policy.
David commenced his career in the civil service with the National Offender Management Service (now Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service) at the Ministry of Justice. He spent seven years with the Ministry, initially as a Safer Custody Officer and later as an Estate Integration Programme Officer, supporting the delivery of the Ministry’s Estates strategy.

David holds a BA in History from the University of Lancaster.

Mark Lench

Development Director

Mark Lench is Crossrail International’s Development Director, responsible for development of new business, stakeholder management, marketing and communications. He is an expert in corporate brand, marketing and communications (BMC) with over 35 years of international experience working at partner, vice president, director and operations management board level for leading professional services consultants and contractors serving a wide range of market sectors, including airports, tunnels, rail and highways.

Mark has created, led and delivered brand, marketing and stakeholder engagement strategies, campaigns and communications programmes at government, corporate, executive, director and senior management levels to over 30 UK and international clients as an expert adviser and consultant. As Development Director for Crossrail International, he has been instrumental in positioning and promoting the company’s unique service proposition and experience portfolio enabling clients around the world greater access to the significant knowledge and expertise, innovations, good practice and lessons learned from Crossrail, one of the most significant infrastructure projects ever undertaken.

His specialist fields of expertise include the development and implementation of strategic marketing and stakeholder engagement plans, communications strategies (including PR and media relations), design and production of marketing and publicity materials, delivering and facilitating events (conferences, exhibitions, workshops, seminars), digital marketing campaigns, key client account management, coaching and mentoring.

Mark has performed BMC and stakeholder engagement activities in 47 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, Africa, Middle East, Asia and Oceania, gaining high levels of cultural awareness, and has participated in over 300 leading industry events worldwide. He has hosted royalty, world leaders, life peers, politicians, industrialists, Ambassadors, High Commissioners and Government representatives around the world, and has participated in many high-level trade missions.

Mark holds a BSc (Hons) in Chemical Engineering and a Diploma in Industrial Studies from Loughborough University.

Achila Mazini

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR

Achila Mazini is an Associate Director at Crossrail International. She joined the organisation from the University of Birmingham’s Centre for Railway Research and Education, where she worked as an Industrial Fellow. Achila is finalising her PhD, focuses on improving testing and verification methods for modern railway systems, including moving block signaling and digital rail innovations, and brings a blend of academic rigour and industry experience to the role.

She has over 12 years of international experience in the rail industry, combining strong technical expertise with a track record in strategic project management and stakeholder engagement. Following her move to the UK in August 2018 from her native Brazil, Achila spent six years at the University, where she contributed to major research and innovation projects and successfully secured funding for several national and international initiatives. Her work has involved close collaboration with industry, academia, and government agencies across Latin America, Europe, and Asia.

Achila commenced her career as an engineering graduate at freight rail company MRS Logistica S.A., in Juiz de Fora, Brazil, where she was involved in the successful implementation of a full Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) system across the country’s Southeast Regional Network. She later joined rail technology specialists Wabtec as a System Integration Analyst, where she supported the development of a modular System Integration Laboratory for testing advanced train control systems, prior to moving to the UK to further her studies.

In her new role, Achila will report to Mark, providing support to CI’s marketing and business development activities, as well as working closely with CI’s relevant subject-matter experts. She will also provide valuable support to our work in Brazil where CI is about to embark on a three-year research programme in association with the University of Birmingham. The programme aims to replicate the UK’s innovation model in international markets, combining academia and the rail industry.

Achila holds a BEng in Electrical Engineering from the Federal University of Juiz de Fora in Brazil. She later completed an Associate Degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Queen Mary University of London and is currently finalising her PhD in Railway Systems.

Advancing low-carbon rail in Latin America: “Transporte rumbo a la COP30”

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Victoria Drakeford

Victoria Drakeford is Business Manager for Crossrail International, responsible for providing a wide range of business management, marketing, business development and administrative support to the CI team.

Steve Long