IMProving Railway sEcurity through awareneSS and training

ended

Railway stations and running trains represent attractive targets for terrorists. Potential attacks can cause numerous casualties, serious transport disruptions and significant financial and economic losses and can employ a variety of means including CBRNe plots. The IMPRESS ISF-P project (IMProving Railway sEcurity through awareneSS and training) aims at improving the protection of stations and trains by developing security training and awareness programmes for all stakeholders in rail stations and on trains. The scope of the training includes security culture in general (with a wide range of significant threats for several European rail operators) and CBRNe threats specifically, which represent a more challenging scenario. The IMPRESS project will focus on the ‘immediate responders’ from the railway environment who are most likely to be the first to prevent or react to a security incident when it occurs on railway premises. This target group of end-users includes the railway staff (e.g., non-security staff at stations and onboard trains, security staff) and stakeholders at stations (e.g., shops, business area) or in trains (e.g., catering, cleaning). The proposed project will be implemented in partnership with the security services of major European railway companies (FS, NS, PKP S.A. and SNCB), one Police University (DHPol) and an extended network of international security experts recruited through UIC – the worldwide railway association. Niche experts will be recruited and included in a highly specialised Advisory Board coming from non-European countries with a high level of expertise (e.g., Israel, North America, India) and who will act as reviewers during the project activities and lecturers during the trainings. For an effective project impact and long-term exploitation of the training modules, synergies will also be developed with international organisations such as CER, COLPOFER, UITP, RAILPOL and relevant EU bodies such as CEPOL and EUROPOL.