The Euros 21 million, 3.5-year project is being led by Ansaldo STS in close cooperation with railway and security solution suppliers, universities, the Association for the European Rail Industry (Unife) and five railways that will act as end-users: Lithuanian Railways (LG), Polish Railways (PKP), French National Railways (SNCF), Turkish Railways (TCDD) and Slovakian Railways (ZSR).
 
The project's primary objective is to reduce differences between security systems on Europe's various networks by providing a viable, integrated set of security solutions that considers the assets involved, the nature of possible threats, technical requirements and operational constraints.
 
Examples of the programmes under development include methods to prevent signal and power distribution systems from becoming victims of electromagnetic terrorism, detecting foreign objects under or on ballast, adoption of daily security checks for trains, control of access to the driver's cab, and tools to secure luggage and to detect unauthorised driving methods
 

Speaking at the event, UIC president Mr Jean-Pierre Loubinoux said that reinforcing security has become increasingly important to railways: "It involves dealing with both malice and everyday crime and also establishing responses to terrorist threats for which the transport sector constitutes an attractive target," Loubinoux said.

"The impact will undoubtedly go beyond the borders of Europe because rail security is also a major issue in other areas of the world."