From 10 to 12 June 2026, the 81st COLPOFER General Assembly took place in Berlin, hosted by the German Railways (DB AG), bringing together 57 representatives from 30 organisations across 21 countries. Held under the theme “Military Mobility in Crisis and Defense”, the event provided a platform to share strategic and operational perceptions of railway security against a constantly evolving geopolitical background.

Discussions highlighted the growing importance of rail as critical infrastructure and a strategic asset for European security, particularly in the face of a range of different threats, sabotage risks, and increasing demands related to military mobility. The official accession of the Ukrainian Railways (UZ) to COLPOFER was one of the Assembly’s milestones, and the company’s contribution gave a constructive insight into maintaining operational resilience under extreme conditions.

The programme featured high-level contributions from institutional and operational stakeholders, including the European Commission, the European Association of Railway Police Forces (RAILPOL), the International Association of Public Transport (UITP), and the UIC Security Department. As part of this, the UIC Security Platform was highlighted as a key framework for fostering cooperation, sharing expertise, and developing joint approaches to rail security challenges at European and global level.

The assembly concluded with a renewed commitment to strengthening cooperation and improving preparedness and information sharing across the European railway security community, while reaffirming COLPOFER’s role within the UIC framework.