UIC Webinar – Sharing Railway Response to the Iberian Power Outage: Impact on Railway Systems and lessons learned

25 September - 15:00 (CET) - Online

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
Resilience of Telecom System in case of power outage.
Rui Silva (IP)
Impact and proposal to make the telecommunications subsystem more resilient.
Miguel Cruz (IP)

15:30-15:50 Security, civil protection and return to normality. Lessons learned.
Major Artur Cerejo & Rafael Mendes (CP)

15:50-16:05 Adaptation of the Contingency Plan to the new scenario.
Yon Andoni Pérez de Lazarraga & Hernán Jiménez (Euskotren)

16:05-16:20 Black Out 28 of April 2025 in Iberian Península. Impact in FGC
Gregorio Gámez Bartolomé (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya, FGC)

16:20-16:35 Comfort Break

16:35-16:55 Impact of the blackout on the Spanish railway system
Angel García de la Bandera (ADIF)
Carlos Freire Coloma (ADIF)
Sergio Lozano Miranda (ADIF)

16:55-17:15
The Iberian Power Outage: Impact on Renfe and lessons learned
Miguel Ángel García Piñero (Renfe Viajeros)
Luz Belén Castaño Padilla (Renfe Viajeros)
Fernando Díez Rodríguez (Renfe Viajeros)

17:15-18:00 Q&A and Conclusions

17:15 17:20 UIC activities on Security
Laura Petersen (UIC)
17:20-17:45 Questions and Answers
Alberto García Alvarez (Moderator, Railways Expert)
17:45-18:00 Wrap-up
Alberto García Alvarez (Railways Expert)

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.