“Security is everybody’s business or it is nothing” – this statement from the UIC General Director Jean-Pierre Loubinoux underlines the importance of security and its wide scope.
The main goal of the Third Security Week was to disseminate the final results of the 2016 – 2017 Additional Programme on Security which was decided during the 2015 Statutory Assemblies and Security Congress. Additional security events were organised during the week, including a seminar on terrorism (covering topics such as radicalisation and cybersecurity), a Security Awareness Day, and several meetings of the UIC Security Platform.
On 6 June 2017, the Security Week opened with the UIC Metal Theft Working Group (WG). Under the chair of Ms Susanne Kufeld (Deutsche Bahn AG), this WG analysed the development of metal theft modus operandi over the past few years and considered a full range of useful countermeasures. As the results revealed that the number of metal thefts has decreased over the last five years, the WG decided to expand its scope. The second event of the first day was the Security of Stations project group. The aim of this project group is to analyse effective solutions for station security measures and their impact on station business elements and customer perception. During this session participants were given an overview of recent and upcoming activities. The results will be collated in a dedicated handbook to be presented during the NextStation Conference (Madrid, 19 and 20 October 2017).
The second day brought together railway experts, police representatives and researchers for the seminar on terrorism. The discussion on radicalisation enabled a better understanding of the root causes and evolution of the phenomenon, ensuring that deviant behaviour within organisations is detected as quickly and as far upstream as possible. This topic was also the first question entered into the Quick Responder network, a relatively new activity channel within the UIC Security Platform. The second topic, cybercrime, is also gaining prominence in the public eye and is relevant across industries. It represents a particular risk for railways, as they deploy ever more sophisticated computerised technology and increasingly rely on modern means of information and communication. UIC is a participant in various ongoing research projects on this topic, for example CYRAIL (http://www.cyrail.eu/).
The first global UIC Security Awareness Day was organised on 8 June 2017. This consisted of the joint presentation of the very creative, modern and appealing awareness campaigns run by various UIC members: DB AG (Germany), SNCB (Belgium), NS (Netherland), VIA Rail (Canada), Thalys (France, Belgium), FS (Italy), SNCF (France), Indian Railways and Railway Protection Force (India).
During the event, eight specific presentations were given covering several topics, including pickpocketing, abandoned luggage, staff and public vigilance, staff and public awareness, and reports on various Security Awareness Days organised in different countries. It was a real success and a very interactive event, punctuated by various videos and poster, material and social media presentations. In addition, the UIC Security Division presented the key results of the Additional Programme on Security regarding the topics of interoperability, the exchange of security-related information on international trains, crisis management, and training and communication. A workshop on freight e-security organised in cooperation with CCTT (Coordinating Council for Trans-Siberian Transportation) also took place before lunch on the third day. The use of customised technologies, such as electronic seals on the doors of wagons and containers, should improve the security of rail freight convoys between Asia and Europe, thus bolstering the efficiency of rail freight corridors. Freight security will be the central topic of the next UIC World Security Congress (Potsdam, 30 November and 1 December 2017).
The Security Week ended on 9 June with the Steering Committee of the Security Platform, co-chaired by Gerd Neubeck (Deutsche Bahn AG) and Marc Beaulieu (Via Rail Canada).
In the wake of the success of this Security Week, the Steering Committee has asked the Security Division to structure the annual work of the Security Platform around:
- A subsequent Security Week in June with a seminar on terrorism and a global UIC Security Awareness Day
- An annual World Security Congress at the end of the year
- Possible reports at each General Assembly
The UIC Security Division thanks everyone involved and the participants for their engagement, which made this week so successful.
To help us improving next events, please take few minutes to fill in the feedback form: http://events.uic.org/uic-security-week-2017
