The Steering Committee meeting was opened by Mr. François Davenne, UIC Director General. Welcome speeches were given by Mr. Piotr Kurcz of PKP S.A. (Polish State Railways), chair of the Security Platform, and Mr. Sanjay Chander of RPF (Indian Railway Protection Force), who took up the role of vice-chair replacing Mr. Arun Kumar (RPF). They all agreed that the new normal caused by the pandemic will continue to be the reality during the days to come and the railway business needs to be adjusted accordingly.

During the meeting, the latest Security Platform working groups activities were presented. Highlights included:

• Human Factors – the leaflet on organization of security during major events is ready and will be published shortly,
• Strategy – the meeting is planned in November 2021 and will focus on the draft of the technical paper draft on the harmonization related to security which is needed for staff in cross-border trains,
• Sabotage, Intrusion, Attack (SIA) – the meeting is scheduled for 26 November 2021 and will focus on attacks against employees and staff, their development over the pandemic and possible countermeasures.

Information was also provided by representatives from COLPOFER and UITP. Close cooperation and information exchange is developed on an ongoing basis with these partners on the various topics addressed by the Security Platform.

The UIC Security team also provided an update on ongoing activities:

• Rail Security HUB was recently updated with new security solutions. There are currently 86 security solutions available. All of them can be found on www.railsecurityhub.org.
• The latest surveys conducted within the Network of Quick Responders have been published:
  • 28th Migration – effects on the rail sector
  • 29th Use of on-board cameras
  • 30th Unattended items at railway stations and on trains
  • 31st Train driving simulation applications – special request from SNCB.

Next survey will focus on security issues regarding COVID-19 and their evolution since June 2021.

• Coordination of EU funded H2020 PROACTIVE project (https://proactive-h2020.eu/), which focuses on CBRNe threats
• Involvement as end user coordinator in the EU funded H2020 SAFETY4RAILS project focusing on safety and security protection for detection, prevention, mitigation and response in trans-modal metro and railway networks in the event of combined cyber-physical threats (https://safety4rails.eu/)

The 2021 World Security Congress will be organized on-line on 8-9 December and will be divided into two sessions:

• Security organization during major events,
• Rail Security activities in 2021-2022.