From contemplation to co-action: turning disused heritage lines into slow-mobility tourism ecosystems

Heritage railways embody the intersection between industrial heritage,community identity, and experiential tourism. Yet, despite their culturaland symbolic relevance, they have received limited attention withinheritage tourism studies. This paper reframes historic railways throughthe lens of Service-Dominant Logic (SDL), interpreting them as dynamicservice ecosystems rather than static preservation artefacts. Focusing onthe ferrociclo (rail-cycle) innovation in Sardinia, it explores how disusedrailway lines can evolve into participatory, sustainable, and community-driven tourism experiences. A dual-method design combines anexploratory survey of 773 respondents with a scenario-based businessplan for the Gairo–Nìala segment. Findings reveal limited awareness butstrong interest in active and ecological forms of mobility, alongside threedistinct visitor segments, Innovative Actives, Traditional Contemplatives,and Hybrid Explorers, reflecting plural logics of authenticity and valueco-creation. The study advances SDL by bridging contemplative andactive heritage consumption and identifying governance transitionsfrom corporate to community models. It contributes to debates onindustrial heritage, authenticity, and sustainable regional regeneration,demonstrating how heritage infrastructures can function as enablers ofsocial, cultural, and economic value creation within evolving tourismecosystems.