Damage mechanisms such as Rolling Contact Fatigue (RCF) and shelling are big issues in railways around the world. Since the annuity cost for rail maintenance of a non-lubricated 12 MGT transportation system is about 50-60 US dollars per meter, a typical railway requires investments of the order of millions of dollars to ensure a reliable and energy-efficient operation. In this collaborative research proposal, two public universities (National University of Colombia and Technological Metropolitan Institute of Medellin) and a large leading public transportation company from Colombia (Metro de Medellin), as well as The University of Sheffield from the UK, will join forces to study a number of wheel/rail contact issues identified in the Metro de Medellin system. Finding the solutions to such problems requires, on one side, the execution of dedicated laboratory tests to be performed at both The University of Sheffield and National University of Colombia, together with the interchange of fundamental knowledge and experiences from successful case studies. The hands-on methodology proposed considers two workshops to be held in Medellin Colombia. The first one will take place in the first quarter of the project and its purpose will be the definition of the specific problems to be faced and the distribution of tasks according to the partners’ expertise. The second workshop, to be held in the last quarter of the project, will focus on the solutions developed, their implementation in the field and the related academic outcomes.