Continuing its successful series of region specific webinars, on 9 July 2026 the UIC Asia-Pacific region hosted a session dedicated to the work, initiatives, and cooperation tools of the UIC Security Department. The session brought together representatives from railway companies across the Asia-Pacific region, including China Railway, Indian Railways, the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), the Korea Railroad Research Institute (KRRI), the Public Transport Authority of Western Australia (PTA), and East Japan Railway Company (JR East).
In his opening remarks, Philippe Lorand, Director of Institutional Relations, Advocacy and Communication and Coordinator of the Asia-Pacific region at UIC, welcomed participants to the 4th session of the year’s web series. He then handed over to Sarvapriya Mayank, Additional Director General of the Railway Protection Force (RPF), Indian Railways, who addressed the members in his capacity as Chair of the UIC Security Platform. Mayank stated that the platform’s greatest asset is the shared experience it draws from operators, police forces, technology partners, and governments across continents, and stressed the need for practical, low-cost, and solution-oriented cooperation to face increasingly fast-moving and unpredictable threats, from crowd management and infrastructure gaps to the rising volume of cyber-attacks and insider threats.
Introducing the UIC Security Department and Security Platform
Focusing on the UIC Security Department, and headed by Grigore Havarneanu, Director of the UIC Security Department, the webinar set out the similarities and differences between safety and security, the key security challenges in an open rail environment, and the importance of prevention, layered protection, and crisis management, developed in close cooperation with public authorities.
The UIC Security team – including Laura Petersen, Kamil Szafranski, Paula Fernandez Diaz, and Timothée Cozon – introduced the five working groups of the Security Platform, namely New Technologies; Human Factors; Strategy, Procedures and Regulations; Sabotage, Intrusions and Attacks; and Crisis Management. Attendees were also invited to nominate experts for the working groups most relevant to their organisation.
Tools, research projects, and the Rail Security Hub
Along with the 5 working groups, two practical tools were presented for member participation and operational solution exchange:
- The Network of Quick Responders
- The UIC Rail Security Hub
The session also addressed priority topics such as the protection of vulnerable groups (including women) and combatting human trafficking, cybersecurity as a cross-cutting subject handled jointly with UIC’s Safety and Telecom & Signalling units, ongoing research and innovation projects such as IMProving Railway sEcurity through awareneSS and training (IMPRESS) and CYbeR-security skills across indUstrial Sectors (CYRUS), and upcoming events including the 21st UIC World Security Congress, to be held from 3 to 5 November 2026 in Dublin, Ireland.
Hearing from Asia-Pacific members
Asia-Pacific members were invited to come to the floor to share their own experiences via a dedicated interactive segment created by Yuke Li, Asia-Pacific Region Advisor. Rachel Smart, Principal Human Factors Advisor at the Public Transport Authority (PTA) of Western Australia, presented the PTA’s transit police, extensive CCTV network, and a “drone-in-a-box” trial used to counter train tagging, which has already led to arrests and a marked drop in incidents at one of the network’s most vulnerable stations.
SunHee (Caitlin) Kim, Principal Researcher at the Korea Railroad Research Institute (KRRI), outlined how cybersecurity is being progressively integrated into Korea’s rail safety management system, and raised questions on aligning international standards for certification, which the UIC Security team addressed in the discussion that followed.
The session closed with a call to the Asia=Pacific members to participate in the relevant working groups and future events.
