Railpol - European Association of Railway Police Forces

🙌👀 A look back at Operation Active Shield!

From 22 to 23 January 2026, Operation Active Shield was carried out by the Counter Terrorism working group.

🤝 First of all, a big thank you to all the participants who, as usual, showed their willingness and commitment, without whom these operations would be meaningless.

🎯 Now let's look at the figures!
- 16 participants countries
- 17,295 police officers mobilised
- 54,835 identity checks
and resources deployed such as K-9 units and metal/explosive detector !

Thanks again to everyone 💪

🇪🇸❗️RAILPOL sends its sincere thoughts to Spain, which suffered a tragic accident on 18 January 2026. A derailment caused two high-speed trains to collide.

Our thoughts are with the victims of the accident, their families and the emergency services who responded to the incident.

As we approach the end of 2025, RAILPOL (the European Association of Railway Police) would like to extend our warmest wishes to all our members, partners, and the entire railway security community.

This year has once again proven the strength of our cooperation. We want to express our deepest gratitude for your unwavering devotion and active involvement in our common mission: ensuring a safer railway environment across Europe.

Your commitment to cross-border security and your dedication to excellence are what make this network thrive.

✨ Happy Holidays and a safe, prosperous New Year to all!

🚨 30th Crime Prevention Week: A Successful Operation 🚨
From November 17-23, 2025, RAILPOL conducted its 30th Crime Prevention Week, led by our Crime and Illegal Migration working group with a special focus on drug-related crimes.

During this week-long operation, RAILPOL members across Europe concentrated their efforts on:
✅ Drug seizures and identification of various substances
✅ Drug-related criminal activities
✅ Identity checks and illegal migration detection
✅ Various other criminal offenses on railway networks

This coordinated approach demonstrates our ongoing commitment to making rail travel secure for everyone. We thank all participating members for their dedication and professionalism throughout this operation.
Together, we continue to protect passengers and combat crime on Europe's railways.

53rd RAILPOL Strategic Council - Athens, Greece 🇬🇷

The 53rd Strategic Council of RAILPOL took place on November 19-20, 2025 in Athens, bringing together all members to review 2025 achievements and plan for 2026. Discussions focused on our five working groups, the 2026 calendar, and organisational improvements to strengthen our association.

🎉We are proud to welcome Luxembourg and Transport Police of Switzerland (TPO) as RAILPOL's newest member, along with new Council members who will contribute to our mission of securing Europe's railways.

🙏 RAILPOL is really greatful to the Greek Police for their exceptional organisation, professionalism, and outstanding hospitality. The resources and dedication they provided made this Strategic Council a great success.

Thank you to all Council members, guests, and partners for your commitment and active participation. Together, we look forward to a successful 2026 in enhancing railway security across Europe.

Ελληνική Αστυνομία
Pictures taken by the Hellenic Police, many thanks to the photographer !
🚆

👉🏼 As promised ! More pictures about the RAILEX !

📷Pictures taken by Polícia Segurança Pública

🚂 RAILEX 2025 Successfully Completed in Lisbon!
On October 22-23, 2025, RAILPOL and the Public Order Working Group organised a major European railway police exercise in Lisbon, bringing together specialised units from six countries: Portugal (Polícia Segurança Pública/ - Unidade de Intervenção) , the Netherlands(Politie Nederland) , the United Kingdom (British Transport Police), Spain (Policía Nacional), Germany(Bundespolizei Karriere), and France (Police Nationale).

Throughout the two-day exercise, international teams worked on various challenging scenarios including:

• Response to an armed suspect with a knife
• Attacks against law enforcement officers
• Active shooter situation aboard a train
Teams trained in pairs before coming together for a large-scale joint exercise in the heart of Lisbon, escorting football supporters to the stadium using Portuguese public transport – a realistic scenario that tested coordination and operational effectiveness across multiple agencies.

RAILPOL would like to extend sincere thanks to:
✅ PSP (Polícia Segurança Pública) for their outstanding work and excellent organisation of this complex event, RAILPOL is grateful to have such committed members !
✅ The Public Order Working Group Chair and all members for their dedication
✅ All participating units and stakeholders who made this exercise a success

These international training exercises are essential to strengthen cooperation between European railway police forces and ensure passenger safety across our rail networks.

Find the press release on our website : https://www.railpol.eu/site/07034F9E52324C58C1258D2D002FB496

🚂 RAILINVEST 2025 - A Resounding Success! 🚂
We're thrilled to share that the 4th RAILINVEST took place in Berlin from October 14-16, bringing together experts and professionals dedicated to advancing railway safety across Europe.
Over three days, our RAILPOL team worked on critical scenarios including train-vehicle collisions and multi-train incidents. The highlight? Seamless coordination among all departments involved in managing these complex situations, combined with hands-on learning about ICE train operations and the European Train Control System.

From logistics to real-time team management during exercises, every detail was executed flawlessly. This success wouldn't have been possible without the exceptional dedication of all participants involved.

🤝 This event marks a pivotal moment: we've established a groundbreaking partnership framework between the European Railway Agency and RAILPOL to strengthen investigation protocols for rail accidents across Europe.
Here's to safer railways and stronger European cooperation! 🇪🇺
Find the press release on our website : https://www.railpol.eu/site/68270BD48778759DC1258D26002FBA0F

🤯 Rail Action Week: A resounding success!

Rail security is everyone's business. 12 members joined forces for a major operation aimed at making our railways more secure.

Thanks to the mobilisation of 30,108 police officers across Europe, thousands of checks (on persons, train stations, and trains) were carried out to prevent any danger.

Some impressive figures:

→ 9.380 level crossings checked,

→ 16.645 sensitized passengers,

→ 29.647 checks,

A huge THANK YOU to our members and their 2.762 partners (railway and security agencies) for this crucial cooperation! Together, for safer railways.

🙌On September 18, 2025, RAILPOL's Managing Director and Executive Director were hosted in Zagreb, Croatia, by the Croatian Ministry of Interior and the Directorate of the Police. This significant meeting concluded with the official signing of the membership document, which establishes Croatia as a new member of the RAILPOL association.
🤝This new partnership represents a fantastic opportunity for deeper international cooperation. We are excited about this collaboration and are eager to see Croatia's future participation in RAILPOL's many projects!

POLICIJA HRVATSKE

📊📈- Active Shield June 2025
On June 26th and 27th, 2025, the Counter Terrorism Working Group spearheaded Operation Active Shield. This significant two-day initiative mobilized 5 818 police officers and resulted in 22 616 identity checks and inspections across 2 902 train stations.

🤝 RAILPOL extends its sincere gratitude to the 14 participating member organisations for their exceptional enthusiasm, unwavering hard work, and steadfast dedication. It's truly thanks to their collective efforts that every operation achieves success!

https://www.railpol.eu/site/F9F108474DA90A3FC1258CCE00380DB1

📌 The 52nd Strategic Council was held in the vibrant city of Warsaw, Poland, on the 4th and 5th of June. This first strategic council meeting of the year was a truly fruitful one, made possible by the members and their unwavering commitment.

This meeting was a great success! It allowed for some really productive discussions about the goals of RAILPOL for the rest of the year and for 2026, as well as those of the working groups.

🤝👏 RAILPOL would like to thank all its members, as well as the speakers, guests and, of course, Poland itself for playing such a key role in making these two days so memorable.

We are thrilled to welcome Croatia as a new member of the association ! Let's get started on this journey of cooperation!

🇪🇺 Funded by the European Union


SOK-iści Żołnierze Transportu RP Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency