Trends for Rail Security Frameworks

Railway security is becoming increasingly important, from daily, recurrent threats which create feelings of insecurity to major incidents such as terrorist attacks. Alongside national, European and international public authorities, the rail sector has a specific and complementary role to play in protecting and developing railway activities.

Due to varied regulatory/legal, administrative, historical, socio-economic and other contexts, the rail security landscape is extremely diverse. Based on the analysis of publicly available information, this document aims to shed light on the trends for shared responsibility when it comes to railway security.

The study detailed in this document revealed three main approaches to railway policing. Either general law enforcement, specialised law enforcement or specialised law enforcement who work directly for the rail company may have this responsibility.

It also led to the identification of five trends for the allocation of roles and responsibilities amongst different rail security actors:

• State retains full responsibility for enforcement;
• Railway enforcement prerogatives linked solely to contract laws;
• Some enforcement prerogatives granted to railways by the State;
• Broad enforcement prerogatives granted to railways by the State;
• Integration of law enforcement in railway companies.

It further examines how the security structure is organised within railway companies: as a separate security department or integrated with safety, at the holding or company level, or as a subsidiary. Lastly, it presents the ways in which security personnel are equipped (e.g., uniforms, defensive equipment).

While common trends offer valuable insights, it is important to remember that none of the identified trends are immediately transferable to any given railway environment. Rather, the information provided in this document is intended to serve as a guiding resource.