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| UIC World Security Congress 2012 - Bratislava, 25-26 October 2012 |
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Organisers and sponsors
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The 8th UIC World Security Congress 2012 in Bratislava |
The 8th UIC World Congress on Railway Security focusing on “Human Factors and Security” and jointly organised by UIC and Slovakian Railways, opens in Bratislava
The 8th UIC World Congress on Railway Security is being held in Bratislava, Slovak Republic, from 25-26 October 2012. It is jointly organised between the International Union of Railways (UIC) and Slovakian Railways ZSSK, ZSSK Cargo and ZSR. The congress is mainly taking stock of human factors issues in the field of railway security.
More than 120 delegates from 26 countries (Africa, America, Asia and Europe) are attending the event. They represent the major players involved in rail and transport security issues: railway security managers, representatives of international organisations, rail supply industry, and universities.
The congress is focusing on four specific themes presented by 25 speakers:
- administrative, legal and operational partnerships,
- human behaviour,
- training of railway staff,
- human factors in technologies and research projects.
The congress was officially opened this morning by Mr Lubomir Hradisky (ZSSK, Slovakia), the new Chairman of the UIC Security Platform, who has succeeded Moha Khaddour from Moroccan Railways (ONCF).
The inaugural session was followed by a video message delivered by UIC Director-General Mr Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, who underlined that it was important not to continue tolerating criminal acts and misconduct and relying on law enforcement authorities to solve these problems or avoid them happening again. In a second point, he underlined that it seemed vital to place people at the heart of security, and use technology and regulations to support railways business, to help staff in charge of security-related duties.
Then, Mr Andrej Holak, State Secretary, Ministry of Transport, Construction and Regional Development of the Slovak Republic, pointed out that railway companies have a huge potential for development in the future. This implies putting companies at the heart of public policies in order to protect and develop them.
Mr Pavol Gábor, Chief Executive Officer of ZSSK, underlined that it was an honour to host
the congress in the Slovak Republic and for Slovakian Railways to co-organise the event. He
greeted the appointment of Mr Lubomir Hradisky as Chairman of the UIC Security Platform.
Mr Jerzy Wisniewski, Director of the UIC Fundamental Values Department explained that the
research linked to security is a part of the development for future railway activities. Since the
creation of the platform, 25 development projects have been developed with the help of
European Union funds. This European effort should be placed in a more global perspective.
Mr Robert Missen, Head of Unit, Land Transport Security, European Commission, concluded
the session by highlighting the need to develop an EU land transport security policy after all
the work already undertaken for air and sea modes. He reminded the audience that Mr Siim
Kallas, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Transport, decided to
involve the Commission to avoid any potential future risks. Then Mr Missen presented the
staff working document published by the European Commission on 31 May 2012. Among the
bullet points in this document, priorities have to be given to high speed rail, intermodal
structures, staff training, resilience of railways systems, research and security of the supply
chain. He confirmed that UIC will be invited to the stakeholders’ group on Land Transport
Security, which should meet for the first time in early 2013.
The event was also the occasion for Mr Pradeep Kumar Mehta (Director-General of the
Indian Railway Protection Force) to take up his new role as Vice-Chairman of the UIC
Security Platform.
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© 2012 UIC. All Rights Reserved
Published by the UIC Communications Department - December 2012 | www.uic.org/security |
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