From 3 to 5 November 2025, UIC Security Department organised the SafeTravellers project’s railway pilot, held at UIC HQ, offering a glimpse into the future of secure and seamless rail travel. The pilot simulated a cross-border train journey, showcasing how biometric passports and mobile enrolment applications can streamline identity checks for both passengers and border guards.

Approximately 40 participants, including border control professionals, technology providers and UIC staff, took part in realistic scenarios designed to evaluate SafeTravellers innovative identity verification solutions and provide feedback on usability, efficiency and traveller experience.

The SafeTravellers project seeks to transform border management by integrating multimodal biometrics and secure digital identity frameworks into transport systems. This pilot provided a controlled environment to assess how these innovations can be tailored to the unique requirements of the railway sector.

Beyond proving the technical feasibility of the tested technologies, the pilot underscored the importance of cross-sector collaboration in building a more secure, efficient and user-friendly travel experience.

A special note of appreciation goes out to the UIC colleagues who volunteered as test passengers, representing departments such as sustainability, institutional relations, finance, rail system, freight, operations and safety, passenger, IT and more. Their engagement was key to the success of the simulation and the richness of the feedback collected.

Insights from this initial pilot will inform further development of the SafeTravellers technologies, which are set to undergo a second rail pilot in June 2026.

You can learn more about the SafeTravellers project on the project website here and follow us on LinkedIn.