The fourth UIC Security Week is taking place this week from 18 – 21 June 2018 at the headquarters of UIC in Paris.
This year’s topics, selected by the steering committee of the UIC Security Platform, will focus on CBRNE Threats (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives), Cybersecurity, Staff and Public Awareness and Business Continuity Management (BCM) in the shape of a themed seminar, two workshops and an Awareness Day featuring a dedicated session on “Women in Railway Transport”.
Attended by around 50 participants from Europe and beyond, the audience this week will include UIC members, railway security experts, representatives of railway companies, infrastructure managers, as well as relevant external parties such as practitioners, trainers, communications experts, researchers and academics.
The Security Week was opened this afternoon by Mr Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, UIC Director General.
He said: “When it comes to security, it’s not just about preventing known incidents or attacks that have already been carried out from re-occurring; it’s also about being constantly proactive and thinking about what might happen, and how to prevent or manage it.” […]
He concluded by saying: “Security Week is an important week, then, for all players involved in railway security, but it is much more than that: the vision for security that we are developing is one that supports business and is designed as an element of service quality rather than as an external, punitive restriction. It is in this way that we can do our part to meet the legitimate expectations of our fellow citizens, for whom the train is a suitable - indeed essential - means of transport for getting around in normal conditions.”
The opening address was followed by a series of presentations addressing the issue of CBRNE terrorism, focusing on future collaborative work to foster a more robust research and preparedness for the CBRNE threat in the railway sector.
The rest of the week will include a workshop on Cybersecurity looking at strategy and organisation to deal with, the Security Awareness Day on Wednesday 20 June with the aim of improving awareness among staff and the public on security aspects in public spaces, behaviour in trains, and dedicated campaigns. A special session on “Women in Railway Transport” will be held in collaboration with UITP on this day. The final day, 21 June, will look at Business Continuity Management (BCM) in order to share approaches and experiences across the different components of BCM. Different presenters will provide an insight into their BCM policy, organisation, programme and experience.
Finally, it was announced that the next UIC Security Congress will be held in Bled, Slovenia, from 16 – 18 October this year, hosted by Slovenian Railways. It will include a workshop dedicated to security and safety in tunnels and after that, the main topic on the agenda will be crisis management.
