The UIC Security Platform Human Factors Working Group and Strategy Working Group met jointly in Paris at the UIC Headquarters on 1 July 2026.
Fatiha Abbes Orabi, Chair of the Strategy group on behalf of SNCB, recalled that the meeting would focus on ‘human-centric security’ and report the results of the previous work on feeling of security and security continuum while exploring common path forward.
The initial session focused on a collaborative approach for managing social issues in trains and stations. First, the UIC’s analysis on a survey launched within the Strategy WG on the topic was presented by Abbes Orabi and Paula Fernández Díaz (UIC) also shared information on their experiences through presentations on personnel security and protecting frontline colleagues (Sarah Winnington, Network Rail), creating the sense of security (Jette Rau, DSB), the impact of security filters on passengers’ perception of security (Carlos Freire Coloma, ADIF), and lessons learnt from attacks and terrorist threats (Tim Scott, TfL).
Breaking into groups, participants discussed four topics stemming from questions present in the UIC’s NQR survey, focusing on cooperation models, how to involve the public, evaluation methods for effectiveness, and managing security at key hotspots.
Jean-Ernest Celestin, Chair of the Human Factors Working Group on behalf of VIA Rail Canada, and Grigore Havârneanu, Director of the UIC Security Department, presented the recently published guide ‘Best practices to increase the feeling of security’, available here. Through a literature review of 80+ publications and a survey with 50+ railway organisations from 26 countries covering all UIC regions, this guide gathers insights on the scale of the issue and the main drivers of perceived insecurity. It further includes measures taken by companies and best practices, as well as persistent challenges and pathways to success. Discussions were held regarding the importance of communicating about the actions taken in order to enhance the feeling of security, both towards the public and with staff.
Finally, Timothée Cozon and Kamil Szafranski (UIC), shared results of the 60th NQR survey on staff uniforms and equipment, leading to a brainstorming on the next topic for the joint Working Groups.
Future work will most likely pursue the topic of uniforms for security staff, taken under a communication lens. The idea being to see how staff is perceived according to what they wear and how this perception influences behaviours and feelings of security.
The report on feeling of security and both survey summaries are available on UIC’s Rail Security Hub, accessible to all UIC members, alongside 115+ security solutions for railways. If you are interested in joining the Security Platform working groups or would like further information, please contact us at security at uic.org.
