(Online) International Forum for Railway Reactivation

Sergio Díaz-Granados has extensive experience in public and private service, both nationally and internationally, with special emphasis on regional development and integration issues. Before assuming the presidency of CAF, he served as Executive Director for Colombia at the Inter-American Development Bank. He previously held the positions of Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism of Colombia, Vice Minister of Business Development and President of the Boards of Directors of Bancóldex and ProColombia. He also has been a congressman and chairman of the Economic Affairs Committee of the Colombia’s House of Representatives.

Lawyer and Social Communicator, with a specialization in Public Opinion and a master’s degree in the Analysis of Economic, Political, and International Problems. She is currently pursuing a master’s in Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law at Universidad de Nebrija. With 25 years of experience in public administration, she most recently served as Deputy Director General of Prosperidad Social (Social Prosperity), where in just nine months she reactivated 71 unfinished public works, delivering 48 of them to communities. She also led the structuring and contracting of 213 projects, including 150 Solidarity Supply Points (PAS)—a key national government program to fight hunger. She has worked as a researcher and university lecturer on topics such as urban development and decentralization. From 2012 to 2013, she served as Director of Bogotá’s Urban Development Institute (IDU) during Gustavo Petro’s mayoral term. There, she led the restructuring of the agency after the contracting scandal, launched the Ciudad Bolívar cable car project, and oversaw the execution of 200 construction sites. She was also a Bogotá City Council member for eight years, presiding over the Council in 2021. In addition, she headed the International Relations Office of the National Electoral Council and served as an advisor on budget issues related to the implementation of the Peace Agreements.

Ángel Cárdenas is the Urban Development and Creative Economies Manager at CAF – Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean. He previously served as Director of Energy Projects for CAF’s Southern Region. He is also an Eisenhower Fellow with Eisenhower Fellowships, a global network that brings together leaders from around the world to spend several weeks in the U.S. meeting with experts in their fields, with the shared goal of building a more peaceful, prosperous, and just world. Cárdenas has worked with the World Bank, the Central University of Venezuela, and the University of Toronto.

He is a historian from the University of Cartagena, with postgraduate studies at the University of Los Andes and El Colegio de México. He is the author of the books El incómodo color de la memoria (Libros El Malpensante), Un diablo al que le llaman tren (Fondo de Cultura Económica), and Bailar con las trompetas del apocalipsis (Planeta). He is also co‑author of Desorden en la plaza: modernización y memoria urbana and Los 50 días que hicieron a Colombia.

His work focuses on issues related to memory, discourse, representation, popular culture, and the paradoxes of history. He has served as an advisor to the Ministry of Culture, the National Center for Historical Memory, the Truth Commission, the Historical Museum of Cartagena de Indias, the Institute of Cultural Heritage of Bogotá, the Cultural Space Claustro La Merced at the University of Cartagena, Fundación Kitambo, and the National Library of Colombia.

He is currently Editorial Advisor at the University of Cartagena, a consultant on cultural affairs, and a columnist for El Espectador and the cultural magazine El Malpensante.

Colombian writer and cultural journalist. He holds a degree in Linguistics and Literature from the University of Cartagena. Since 2017, he has worked as an editor and researcher at the Gabo Center of the Gabo Foundation. His chronicles, stories, essays, and opinion columns have been published in media outlets such as El País (Spain), El Tiempo, Caracol Radio, Infobae, El Espectador, and The London Magazine. He is the author of the books La máquina de la memoria (2022) and Gabriel García Márquez, un genio de muchos rostros (2025).

A passionate salsa lover and music programmer from Cali, Alejandro Flórez has lived in Bogotá for the past 30 years. He is a social communicator, journalist, and specialist in cultural management and administration. He has extensive experience organizing both in-person and virtual musical listening sessions, using a format that blends musical talks with curated playlists, somewhere between a live music conference and a musical magazine. In 2015, he directed and hosted “A mover el mambo”, a Caribbean music show on Radio Diversia, a virtual LGBTI radio station in Bogotá. The program offered a fresh perspective on gender and sexual diversity in Caribbean music. In 2020, during the pandemic, he and a group of friends launched “Tremendos Boleros” on Zoom—a space for connection and care through music, focused on preserving and celebrating Latin American musical memory. He has been a featured guest at major events such as the Bogotá International Book Fair (2024), the Chocó Reading and Writing Festival in Quibdó (2025), the Oiga Mire Lea Literature Festival in Cali, the Toma Rosa at the Bogotá Cinematheque, and the Baila Bolero Festival in Cali (2023). His sessions are regularly held in libraries, bookstores, museums, cultural centers, and bars in both Cali and Bogotá. In March 2024, he performed in Spain—in Madrid, Barcelona, and L’Hospitalet—invited by Espacio Afro Madrid, Latir Music Festival, and TPK – Center for Contemporary Art and Thought. He is currently leading the research and production of a podcast for the Banco de la República, exploring musical practices and soundscapes in Valle del Cauca from 1900 to the present day. Every month, he curates and presents “Tremendos Boleros Night” and “Stories of Great Afro-Caribbean Orchestras” at El Establo de Pegaso Cultural Café in Bogotá. In addition to his passion for music, Alejandro Flórez works in strategic communication, public policy implementation, and project management in the cultural and social sectors, both nationally and in Bogotá. He has experience in communication management, social mobilization in health, and artistic practices in both public and private institutions. He has completed national and international postgraduate studies in cultural cooperation, institutional networking, governance, and public management. For ten years, he was a lecturer in the Cultural Management and Administration Specialization program at Universidad del Rosario. He currently works as an independent consultant in communications and cultural project management.

Specialist in organizational communication and a trilingual social communicator (Spanish, French, and English) with extensive experience in managing high-level strategic relationships, brand positioning, crisis management, and reputation building.

She has worked as a journalist and presenter for media outlets such as Caracol Radio, NTN 24, Canal RCN, and City TV. She has held senior roles in Corporate Affairs at multinational companies including Philip Morris International, Trafigura, and Impala. She also served as Communications Director at the Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Comptroller General.

She has advised more than 20 public and private organizations, bringing expertise in negotiation, decision-making, critical thinking, strategic planning, analytical skills, organizational vision, creativity, and innovation.

He holds a degree in Business and Economics from the University of Chile and has extensive experience in the public sector, particularly in transportation and infrastructure concessions. He has served in various public institutions, including the Board of the Metropolitan Public Transport Directorate (DTPM), the Ministry of Public Works (Highways Department and General Directorate of Concessions), and the Chilean Economic Development Agency (CORFO), among others.

Mike is a sustainability practitioner withe 35 years of experience in linear infrastructure, the majority of this time having been spent in the rail sector. Over this time, he has witnessed the transition from a compliance to beyond compliance approach to environmental and socio-economic issues during project delivery. Mike has been involved in projects in Europe, Middle East and South America, within both client and contractor organisations. Projects include, High Speed 1, High Speed 2 , Crossrail and Transport for London Major Projects in the UK, NEOM-KSA, Colombia Rail Reactivation, Mexico Rail Reactivation and Ulaanbaatar Metro, Mongolia. He is well known in the industry and has been involved in a number of technical committees and publications.

Es Ingeniero Civil de la Universidad de Los Andes. Cuenta con un Magíster en Planificación Urbana y Transporte de la Universidad de Carolina del Norte en Chapel Hill. En su trayectoria profesional se ha desempeñado como consultor en Transporte del Banco Mundial, asesor de transporte en el Departamento Nacional de Planeación, Viceministro de Transporte, y durante los últimos cinco años trabajo para CAF como Coordinador de Transporte Urbano y Director de Conocimiento Sectorial. Nicolás fue parte del Comité de ‘Transporte en países en vía de desarrollo’ del Transport Research Board en Estados Unidos, y presidió el Comité de ‘Transporte público e innovación’ del mismo órgano.

Ana García Pando holds a degree in Tourism Business and Activities from the University of Oviedo and a postgraduate degree in Hotel Management and Administration from the Complutense University of Madrid.

She served as General Manager of Tren Ecuador, the public company of the Ecuadorian Railways, where she earned the 2016 award for Best Project in Inclusion and Poverty Reduction at the World Responsible Tourism Awards, as well as a special mention as the World’s Best Responsible Tourism Project. Since 2018, she has been collaborating with the UIC working group dedicated to tourist trains, TopRail, with which she has published the Guidelines to Improve the Attractiveness of Railways for Tourism and the Classification and Categorization System for Tourism‑Friendly Railway Services and Experiences.

In addition, she has served as Director General of Tourism of the Principality of Asturias (Spain), Program Coordinator for the World Tourism Organization –ONUTURISMO– in the Andean region, and Vice Minister of Tourism of Ecuador.

Patrick ten Have is a seasoned professional in the design and execution of large-scale projects, with over 30 years of experience in the initiation, development, implementation, operation, and maintenance of major railway projects around the world.

Patrick has worked as a contractor, designer, and client, and his most recent experience comes from his involvement at government and client-organization level in complex, large-scale railway projects such as Crossrail (Elizabeth Line), Crossrail 2, the Tel Aviv Metro, the Sydney Metro, Colombia’s Railway Reactivation Planning, the Railway Recovery and Revitalization Program of the Republic of South Africa, the Hanoi Metro Network, and the Ulaanbaatar Metro.

She is a Civil Engineer (Roads, Canals and Ports) and completed the PDD at IESE. She has over 25 years of experience leading multidisciplinary teams and managing complex project portfolios in international contexts, as well as in transport planning and economics, both in the private sector and in public administration.

Her career at Ineco, spanning more than 20 years, has allowed her to lead areas such as the current International Business Division and the former Directorate of Economics, Planning and Environment.

Civil engineer with a master’s degree in Water Resources and Hydroinformatics from Universidad de Los Andes, and extensive experience in projects related to water resources management, mainly in Colombia. With over 10 years of professional experience, she has worked on environmental and territorial planning, risk assessment studies, climate change impact analysis on water management, and the design, evaluation, and approval of drinking water and sanitation projects, as well as public investment management. She has held positions in the public sector such as Deputy Director of Projects at the Vice Ministry of Water and Sanitation, advisor to the Vice Minister, advisor on risk management and climate change at the Adaptation Fund, and Technical Deputy Director at the Directorate of Projects and Public Investment Information at the National Planning Department. She is currently involved in strategic projects such as the structuring of the El Estanquillo–Popayán PPP and the Buenaventura–Palmira railway project, which includes complex engineering components like tunnels through the Western and Central Andes. She currently serves as Vice President of Structuring at the National Infrastructure Agency (ANI).

She holds a degree in Economic and Social Planning and is a specialist in project management, with over 14 years of experience in public service. She has served as a Planning and Social Promotion officer, Administrative Head of the River Works Directorate, Director of the Coordination and Participation Area of the Executing and Coordinating Unit of the MOPT/IDB Cantonal Road Network Program, as well as Chief of Staff to both the Vice Ministry of Infrastructure and the Minister of Public Works and Transportation.

A civil engineer from Medellín, Colombia, with a master’s degree in Urban Development from the University of Darmstadt (Germany) and another in Economics from the University of Tor Vergata (Italy). She has more than 18 years of experience in the management and structuring of infrastructure projects, particularly in the railway sector, across different countries and regions in Europe and Latin America.

She has worked in the public, private, and multilateral sectors, taking part in complex, large-scale projects—mainly urban and suburban passenger and freight transport—throughout all phases: planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance.

She spent several years in the private sector working on transport projects in Spain and later in Latin America. Among the most representative projects she has been involved in are: the high-speed line between Madrid and the French border (Barcelona section), the urban renewal project in Sagrera (Barcelona), Line 2 of the Panama Metro, the railway line between Buga and Buenaventura, the Avenida 80 Light Rail, the Bogotá Metro, the Dorada–Chiriguaná railway line, the Medellín Metro, the Guatemala City Light Rail, the Valle Commuter Train, the Quito Metro, the Bogotá–Belencito freight line, the Bilbao–Madrid high-speed line, and the metros of Mumbai, Bangalore, and Chennai (India), among others.

Graduate in Administrative Sciences with a focus on Management from Universidad Metropolitana (Venezuela), and holder of a Master’s degree in Business Administration from INCAE (Costa Rica). She currently serves as Director of Technical Analysis and Evaluation for infrastructure in transport, logistics, telecommunications, and energy, promoting knowledge generation, experience sharing, and technical assistance for projects. She has built an 18-year career at CAF, managing financing, administration, and technical assistance for infrastructure investment projects and programs across Latin America. Previously, she worked at the National Investment Promotion Council (CONAPRI) in Venezuela, focusing on research and analysis of investment opportunities in the transport sector. She also held positions in marketing and finance departments at multinational companies.

Héctor Varela is a Civil Engineer (Roads, Canals and Ports) from the Polytechnic University of Madrid, where he also earned a Master’s degree in Infrastructure Financing and Management.

Before joining CAF in 2014, he built his career in Spain, coordinating transport and territorial planning studies, as well as the design of railway, road, port, and urban infrastructure, and the structuring of projects under public–private partnership schemes.

He currently serves as a Senior Specialist in CAF’s Transport and Energy Directorate, where he provides technical support for the financing of transport infrastructure. He also leads knowledge development and transfer initiatives in the sector, coordinating CAF’s efforts to promote railway transport across Latin America.

An economist with over 30 years of experience, he has been part of Ineco since 2007. He has worked in several transport consultancy firms and has also taught at the University of Vigo and Universidad Carlos III of Madrid.

Throughout his career, he has served as an advisor at the Economic Office of the Prime Minister of Spain, focusing on infrastructure and transport issues, as well as in the offices of the Secretary of State and the Minister of Transport.

She holds a Master’s degree in Social Responsibility and Sustainability from the Externado University of Colombia and Columbia University in New York. She has more than 20 years of experience in the formulation and management of projects in the field of local socioeconomic development, building public–private partnerships in areas such as human capital development, business strengthening, and improving the competitive environment across various economic sectors.

She currently leads the Logistics and Mobility Cluster Initiative for the Bogotá Region at the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce, as well as the Technical Secretariat of the Bogotá–Cundinamarca Regional Logistics Alliance, driving a strategic agenda of projects and actions aimed at enhancing business competitiveness and the overall operating environment for the sector.

Civil Engineer from the University of Costa Rica (1999), with a Master’s degree in Project Management from the University for International Cooperation (2014), and a diploma in Urban Transport Systems from the OAS Interdisciplinary Studies Center (2017). She has 26 years of experience in transport systems planning, public and rail transport, sustainable mobility, and infrastructure. Her technical contributions include key national projects such as the Interurban Passenger Train for the Greater Metropolitan Area, the Freight Train for the Huetar Norte and Caribbean Region, and the sectorization of the Integrated Public Transport System in the San José Metropolitan Area. She has also been involved in the development of the Regional Framework Policy on Mobility and Logistics promoted by SIECA, the creation of the National Data Observatory for Transport Planning in Costa Rica, the Sustainable Urban Transport and Mobility Program, and the National Transport Plan 2011–2035.

Civil Engineer from the National University of Colombia, with a specialization in Project Management from Universidad Sergio Arboleda and a Master’s degree in Transportation Engineering from the National University of Colombia. He has over 20 years of experience in national, district, and departmental government agencies, leading transportation and mobility infrastructure projects. Most recently, he served as General Manager of TRANSMILENIO S.A., where he oversaw resources allocated to the development of new trunk system infrastructure and led technical and operational decisions for Bogotá’s Integrated Public Transport System and the Soacha trunk line.

He holds a degree in Archival Science from the University of Brasília and a postgraduate degree in Public Management from the AVM Educational Institute. A federal public servant since 2009, he worked from 2014 to 2024 at the Railway Transport Superintendence of the National Land Transport Agency, where he was responsible for monitoring concession contracts and drafting regulatory acts. During this time, he participated in resolving conflicts between users and freight rail service providers, contributing to the sustainable development of Brazil's transport matrix. Since 2024, he has been part of the National Secretariat for Railway Transport, where he focuses on overseeing public railway construction projects and developing new railway concession initiatives.

Cristian Rincón is a Civil Engineer with a Master’s degree in Building Information Modelling (BIM) and a PhD candidate in Technology Innovation Management. He has more than ten years of experience in consulting, project management, and digital transformation in the infrastructure sector, with a strong focus on the railway industry.

He currently serves as Principal Consultant and Digitalization Portfolio Owner for Latin America at DB Engineering & Consulting GmbH, leading initiatives in BIM, Digital Twins, data management, and digital transformation.

Cristian has advised operators such as Metro de Medellín and EMOVA on the adoption of digital solutions, systems integration, and innovation strategies. His career includes the development and implementation of BIM projects for asset management, as well as participation in national and international railway projects.

International executive with over 30 years of experience in the railway sector, specializing in metro systems, light rail, commuter trains, and high-speed rail. He has held senior leadership positions in Germany, Latin America, the U.S., and the Middle East, leading operations, business development, signaling, maintenance, and organizational transformation. A certified PMP and trilingual (German, English, Spanish), he has a solid track record in managing complex projects and international contracts. He has worked closely with authorities, operators, and manufacturers in multicultural and high-demand environments. He brings strong experience in digitalization, BIM implementation, and process optimization. Recognized for his ability to build strategic alliances, reposition organizations, and support high-impact initiatives. He currently focuses on providing strategic advice to public and private railway sector entities, supporting key decision-making and aligning expectations in critical projects.

Liliana María Ospina Arias, currently serving as Vice Minister of Infrastructure at Colombia’s Ministry of Transport, is an architect with a master’s degree in Urban Planning from the National University of Colombia and further studies in Urban Management at Universidad Javeriana.

Her experience spans territorial planning, mobility, social housing, and the management of urban projects. She has worked at the National Infrastructure Agency (ANI) on the structuring of public–private partnerships for rail, river, and road projects, and has led entities such as Metrovivienda and the Urban Renewal Company of Bogotá.

She played a key role in shaping Bogotá’s Land-Use Plan (2012–2015) and has taught at prestigious universities. She also served as Acting Director of Colombia’s Civil Aviation Authority.