The UIC Security Platform Steering Committee meeting was held on 6 December at UIC Headquarters and online. During his welcome address, Manoj Yadava, General Director of the Railway Protection Force of Indian Railways, Chair of the UIC Security Platform, highlighted the relevance of the platform as a trusted space for members to share their experiences in rail security, as learning from one another is paramount when facing ever evolving threats. He further emphasized the role of the UIC Security Division in disseminating best security practices. Vice Chair of the Security Platform, Xavier Roche, Security Director SNCF (French Railways) expressed his agreement with the Chair’s welcome words.
During the meeting, the recent activities of the three permanent Security Platform Working Groups were conveyed. The New Technologies Working Group, chaired by Armand Raudin from SNCF, presented the main themes that will be explored within the group during the coming years, including artificial intelligence applications for rail security, drones and technologies for weapon detection. The proposed roadmap is being developed based on the feedback gathered from the working group experts during the kick-off meeting held on 20 September at SNCF premises and online.
The Human Factors Working Group, chaired by Peter Lambrinakos from VIA Rail, Canada, shared the main take away messages from their recent meeting held online on 28 November, focusing on “Boosting rail security culture through trainings against violent crime and terrorist attacks.” The meeting gathered more than 30 participants with representatives from five UIC Regions (Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia, and Africa), providing a diverse and global perspective on training practices.
The Strategy and Regulation Working Group, chaired by Delphine Beatse from SNCB, Belgium, discussed progress on the issue of multilateral agreements between States to allow railway undertakings staff to accompany cross-border trains to their end destination while retaining at least minimal powers applicable in all of the countries covered by the journey.
Next, the two ad hoc working groups took the floor. First, the Sabotage, Intrusion & Attacks Working Group, chaired by Benjamin Burghard from DB AG, Germany, discussed the main findings from the Group’s meeting held the previous day, on 5 December, focusing on Critical Infrastructure Resilience. The meeting was held in hybrid mode, with over 20 participants and presentations from DB, Trafikverket, ÖBB and Network Rail. Furthermore, the action plan for 2024 was discussed, and the proposal to focus on metal theft was generally agreed.
Then, the Crisis Management Working Group, chaired by Ewa Wójcik from PKP S.A., Poland, shared with those attending the plans for the upcoming meeting focusing on migrant crises, which will take place in January 2024. Furthermore, based on feedback from the working group experts, the proposed main topic for the coming year is business continuity plans.
The meeting continued with updates from the UIC Regions, such as the recent meeting with the UIC Security Division and the South African Railway Safety Regulator (RSR), and Partners, such as CER. On behalf of COLPOFER, UIC Special group, Maria Cristina Fiorentino from FS announced the election of Roberto Massi, FS group Chief Security & Risk Officer, as chairman of COLPOFER and herself confirmed as Secretary General.
After which, the UIC Security Division presented their recent activities, such as the INTERPOL Conference, the TRAIN-2B-EQUAL webinar, recent updates to the Rail Security Hub, as well as the latest news from the ongoing EU (co)funded projects IMPRESS, CYRUS, ODYSSEUS and PROACTIVE.
Following the Steering Committee meeting, Security Platform members joined the Talent Expertise & HR Development Seminar on “How will artificial Intelligence impact jobs in the railway operations?” Marie-Hélène Bonneau, UIC Head of Security Division, and Laura Petersen, UIC Senior Security Research Advisor, presented on the potential role for AI in rail security.
