The UIC Special Group COLPOFER held their 78th General Assembly (GA) in Brussels, Belgium, on 22 – 23 October 2024, hosted by SNCB. Alongside the GA, the first-ever COLPOFER-RAILPOL Symposium was held, which brought together European railway security managers and European railway police representatives.
During the GA, Mr. Salvatore Iannicelli, Chief Security Officer of the FS Group, was appointed President of COLPOFER. He reiterated his commitment to completing the objectives outlined in COLPOFER’s annual program, which are in line with the UIC roadmap for a safer, more efficient and sustainable railway system.
One highlight from the meeting was SNCF Group’s feedback on the organisation of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which was a great success thanks to the intense preparation and cooperation with the authorities that had started five years ago.
This was followed by a UIC Security Division presentation of ODYSSEUS and SAFETRAVELLERS EU projects, which both focus on border management. Each project’s railway pilot, led by UIC, should be particularly relevant given the context of the soon to be deployed EU Entry Exit System (EES).
Then the group had the opportunity to travel to London, visit the Eurostar security and border control environment and exchange with the Eurostar security department as well as representatives of local authorities. The “patchwork” of legal frameworks from all five countries Eurostar crosses was underlined as one of the main security challenges.
On the second day, the first COLPOFER-RAILPOL symposium was held with insights on today and tomorrow’s terrorism challenges being provided by EUROPOL, DG HOME and DG MOVE. Best practices on enhancing railway security were then shared by NS, as chair of the WG on terrorism, SNCB on crisis organisation, DB AG on border control, the Italian Railway police on police interventions after accidents and the Slovenian national police, as chair of the RAILPOL crime and illegal migration group.
RAILPOL Chairman, Mr Christophe Gradel, Chief of SNPF (French national railway police) concluded the symposium by highlighting the importance of collaboration for ensuring a secure and efficient rail journey for all.
The next major rail security event is the 19th UIC World Security Congress organised with SNCF. It will be held at UIC HQ in Paris, France, from 2 – 4 December 2024 on the theme “Railway security: between everyday journeys and major event challenges”. For more information, please visit https://uic.org/events/2024-19th-uic-world-security-congress.
