The objective of this session was to promote Spain as a leading country in the development of high speed rail and to foster the participation of Spanish companies in high speed projects undertaken in the United States, with special emphasis placed on the Californian high speed project.

The session was opened by Javier Yraola, Economic and Trade Adviser of the Spanish Embassy in Chicago. During the 90 minute session, the eight companies taking part had the opportunity to show their experience in high speed rail. The audience comprised of delegates interested in the development of the high speed rail project in California that will connect the main cities in the state, transporting over 100 million people per year. The 400 speakers who took part in the conference included Jeff Morales, President & CEO of California High Speed Rail Authority, the public entity in charge of carrying out the California high speed rail project, Phil Washington, CEO of LA County Metro, the entity in charge of the transport network in the metropolitan area of Los Angeles, and Brian Kelly, secretary of the CA State Transportation Agency.

It was a great opportunity to show the extensive experience of FCC in the rail sector. There to represent the company was Jesús M. de la Fuente, Director of Development in North America for FCC Construcción, who, in front of railway industry executives, government decision-makers, construction and consultancy companies and other organisations, spoke about the numerous public rail works FCC has undertaken throughout its history. This includes high speed rail to metro as well as new tramlines, including the maintenance and remodelling of existing lines and the construction of new stations as transport hubs in large cities. In total, FCC has built over 700 km of high speed rail lines out of the 2,200 km in Spain. The country’s network is the first in Europe and second in the world in terms of the length of lines in operation. Furthermore, FCC has in the experienced required to participate in the delivery of the California high speed rail project, particularly because the orography of the US west coast is similar to that of Spain.