Status: Past event
UIC Webinar – Sharing Railway Response to the Iberian Power Outage: Impact on Railway Systems and lessons learned
About
On 28 April, a large-scale power outage affected significant parts of Spain and Portugal, severely disrupting transport systems across the Iberian Peninsula. Despite the scale and suddenness of the incident, the railway sector demonstrated a remarkable level of professionalism, adaptability, and care for passengers.
Infrastructure managers and railway undertakings acted swiftly and calmly, ensuring safety and continuity of service wherever possible, and maintaining clear communication with users throughout the crisis.
Social media quickly filled with messages of appreciation for railway staff—from frontline personnel who guided passengers with empathy and composure, to control room teams who adapted operations under pressure. These real-time reactions have shown the strength of our railway community, and they also offer important insights into how to manage crisis situations effectively.
To build on this experience, the International Union of Railways (UIC) is pleased to invite the entire railway community and relevant stakeholders to a dedicated webinar.
When: 25 September at 15:00 (CET), to be held online.
Objectives of the webinar:
- To share first-hand experiences of managing operations during the power outage
- To highlight effective communication strategies used with passengers and stakeholders
- To identify operational and organisational lessons that can enhance future resilience
- To promote international exchange on good practices in crisis management within the rail sector
Programme
15:00-15:10 Welcome. Impact on Rail Operations Francisco Cabrera & Vanessa Perez (UIC)
15:10-17:10 Rail operators
- 15:10-15:30
- 15:30-15:50 Security, civil protection and return to normality. Lessons learned.
- 15:50-16:05 Adaptation of the Contingency Plan to the new scenario.
- 16:05-16:20 Black Out 28 of April 2025 in Iberian Península. Impact in FGC
- 16:20-16:35 Comfort Break
- 16:35-16:55 Impact of the blackout on the Spanish railway system
- 16:55-17:15
17:15-18:00 Q&A and Conclusions
- 17:15 17:20 UIC activities on Security
- 17:20-17:45 Questions and Answers
- 17:45-18:00 Wrap-up
The spoken language of the webinar will be Spanish/Portuguese, and interpretation support will be arranged into English. Presentations will be in English.
Participation is open to all railway professionals and interested organizations, both in the Iberian region and internationally.
Presentations
Renfe Laura Petersen (UIC) Adif FGC Euskotren IP CP