© Association for European Transport and contributors 2008 1 IMPROVING PUBLIC TRANSPORT BY RAIL. THE CASE OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT BY TRAIN IN CALABRIA, ITALY Francis Cirianni, Domenico Ianno’ Dept. of Computer Science, Mathematics, Electronics and Transportation Faculty of Engineering - Mediterranea University, Reggio Calabria – Italy Santo Marazzita Ferrovie della Calabria s.r.l., Calabria - Italy 1 INTRODUCTION The company Ferrovie della Calabria is the concessionaire of regional rail and bus transport in the area of Calabria, serving often as sole public transport link between many small towns and villages and the main cities, and the interchanges for the national rail network, with a significant modal share for school and work trips. The company, which previously was publicly managed, is on route to become a PLC company, whose property is still state owned. Having started as a railway company at the beginning of the last century, it converted many routes to road transport during the fifties and sixties, but never abandoning completely its original rail service, still at the date owning and operating a service on narrow gauge for a total of 231 km of track, in a variety of land morphologies and conditions, with stretches in adhesion are followed from significant slopes served by rack. A new management and a new transport approach, oriented to improving the level of service, and to modernize a system which was not corresponding in its formal and functional aspects, pursuing the core transport mode of the company, on the assumption that regional rail traffic pursues the aim of connecting urban and suburban destinations comfortably, with a strong alternative to congested roads using it own infrastructure. In addition to an intact infrastructure, comfortable and cost-favourable vehicles are a vital prerequisite for the acceptance and use of regional traffic as an alternative to the car. This as led to an investment for the renewal of the rail fleet. The upgrading of the rolling stock is based on a modular vehicle concept to optimally meet the various requirements in terms of track gauge, structural clearance and transport capacity of the line. The service strategy implies instead the adaptation of timetables to user needs, implementation of a new approach of punctuality, modernization of the company image and improvements in information and customer service. The paper presents a description of the existing situation, the different actions derived from the strategies for change, the implementation of these actions and the first results obtained. 2 REGIONAL RAILWAYS IN CALABRIA The Ferrovie della Calabria (FdC), born as Calabro-Lucane Railroads (FCL) were conceived as "mountain Railroads" with narrow gauge. Their history is