This meeting was held on 13 and 14 May 2013 in Berlin at the invitation of Deutsche Bahn. Representatives came from DB, FS, Infrabel, ÖBB, SNCF and ZSR, as well as the German Federal Police, Pol-PRIMETT, CER and the UIC Security Division.
With SNCF having said that it no longer wished to retain its chairmanship of the group – though would still continue to attend the meetings – it was agreed that Deutsche Bahn (Mrs Susanne Kufeld) would take over as of now. The vice-chairmanship would continue to be held by Slovakian railway infrastructure manager ZSR (Mr Miroslav Zeman).
Following various presentations given by the different members of the group, the following actions were agreed upon:
- Develop a European map of the areas most impacted by the phenomenon – based on the map shown by SNCF – highlighting the cross-border issues and the worst affected routes (Thalys, high speed…)
- Develop an information forum, especially on the UIC extranet, to enable members to access all useful information and proposals
- Establish a close link with the Pol-PRIMETT network, developed as part of a DG HOME European project, mainly comprising representatives of national authorities, and in which UIC has participated since March 2013 (cf. UIC eNews 336)
- Discuss and adopt a position paper at the next meeting on the basis of the project presented by the Security Division. This document will list a number of recommendations for railway companies as well as requests or proposals to national authorities and international organisations (European Commission, customs officials…)
- Devise a communications plan on the subject of metal theft and its overall impact on rail transport operations (cost of repairs, consequences in terms of punctuality, reliability, image…)
The working group remains open to other UIC members who wish to join. The next meeting will take place on 1 and 2 October in Bratislava at the invitation of ZSR.