Detailed Programme

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Moderator: TBA

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43 – How to Apply Risk Management Procedures to Manage all the Changes in the Maintenance Activities for Railway Vehicles by applying the European Common Safety Methods (EU) 402/2013?

Author: Nathalie Duquenne
Position and Entity: Project Officer, European Union Agency for Railways (ERA)
Country: France
Short Biography: Natahalie Duquenne is an engineer in industrial engineering and computer science. She worked for 11 years in the French Institute of Transport in railway domain, focusing on safety assessment of the railway transport system. She has been a Project Officer at the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) since 2007, working on accident investigation, the Common Safety Method (CSM) for risk evaluating and assessment. Since February 2012, she has been responsible for the implementation of the regulations concerning the certification of Entities in Charge of Maintenance (ECM) for railway vehicles.

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41 – Maintenance-Optimized Safety Evaluation and Verification of Retrofitted Platform Screen Doors under High-Speed Train Aerodynamic Loads

Author: Jinho Kim
Position and Entity: Chief Researcher, Korea Railroad Research Institute (KRRI)
Country: Republic of Korea
Short Biography: Dr. Jinho Kim received his Ph.D. in structural dynamics from the University of California, Davis. His primary research interests include smart safety management and maintenance of railway infrastructure.
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63 - New Railway Regulatory Approach: Whole-Process Oversight of Signalling Replacement Project

‍Speaker: Azura CHOI
Position and Entity: Electronics Engineer, Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Country: Hong Kong, China
Short Biography: Ir Azura CHOI is an Electronics Engineer in the Railways Branch of the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. With over 10 years of professional experience, she focuses on railway signalling, innovation projects, and regulatory oversight of Mass Transit Railway (MTR) operations. Her work supports railway safety and the adoption of new technologies to enhance the safety, reliability, and resilience of Hong Kong’s railway network. Her key responsibilities include conducting technical reviews and risk-based inspections, as well as collaborating closely with railway operators. She also supports regulatory assessments of the MTR’s Asset Management System (AMS) and Safety Management System (SMS), contributing to continuous improvement in railway safety and operational performance.

Moderator: TBA

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49 - Hot Axle Box and Wheel Detection Systems: From Safety Devices to Enablers of Condition-Based Maintenance

Author: Joaquin Botella
Position and Entity: Chief Technical Engineer Railways, Sener Mobility
Country: Spain
Short Biography: Joaquín Botella is Chief Technical Engineer in Railways at SENER, with nearly 40 years of experience in railway engineering across high-speed, conventional, metro, and light rail systems. He has led multidisciplinary teams and delivered integrated solutions across Europe, the Middle East, the Americas, and Asia. He is an active contributor to the International Union of Railways (UIC), participating in the development of several international handbooks on high-speed rail, regional and commuter services, and customer experience. He is currently involved in UIC initiatives on wayside condition monitoring systems, including Hot Axle Box Detectors (HABD), Hot Wheel Detectors (HWD), and Wheel Impact Load Detectors (WILD), and has authored over 25 papers at international conferences.

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50 - Wheel Impact Load Detectors: From Safety Monitoring to Strategic Data Assets for Predictive Maintenance

Author: Jose Manuel Cabral
Position and Entity: Project Manager (Intelligent Transportation Systems) , Sener Mobility
Country: Spain
Short Biography: José Manuel Cabral is a Railway Systems Engineer and Project Director with over 18 years of international experience delivering complex railway, metro and light rail projects. He has led signalling, SCADA, control centre and telecommunications solutions for infrastructure managers, operators and OEMs, including ADIF, TMB, Banedanmark, UIC and FONATUR. His expertise covers interlockings, automatic level crossings, SIL3/SIL4 field elements, control centres and integrated system architectures. He holds an Industrial Engineering degree, a Master's in Project Management, and is PMP certified.

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42 - Learning from Failure: Common Technical and Organisational Factors in Four Swedish Derailments

Author: Mikael Hillbo

Position and Entity: Senior Rail Safety Investigator, Swedish Accident Investigation Authority (SHK)
Country: Sweden
Short Biography: Born in Stockholm, Sweden. Mikael Hilbo graduated from technical high school and began repairing trains in the late 1980's and became a train driver in 1994. He subsequently worked on improving driver work environments, vehicle safety, fire safety and general railway safety. Since 2018, he has served as an investigator at the Swedish Accident Investigation Authority (SHK).

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60 - Regulatory Approach to Rail Incident Management in Singapore

Author: Heng Meng Choon, Jerry
Position and Entity: Deputy Director, Rail Regulation, Kand Transport Authority (LTA)
Country: Singapore
Short Biography: Jerry Heng is the Deputy Director of the Rail Regulation division at Singapore’s Land Transport Authority), heading the division that regulates the rail operators. He has extensive experience in regulatory oversight for Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Light Rail Transit (LRT) systems. He leads incident investigations, safety audits, regulatory reviews, and operational affairs, and has been instrumental in establishing joint LTA-operator teams, commissioning new rail lines, and promoting safety culture.

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64- From Fragmented Emergency Response to Integrated Decision-Making: Design, Implementation and Preliminary Validation of a Railway Emergency Information Management Initiative

Author: José Pires
Position and Entity: Safety Management System Manager, CP - Comboios de Portugal, EPE
Country: Portugal
Short Biography: José Pires is a Portuguese railway professional with 31 years of experience, having begun his career as a train driver before moving into operational management, safety railway, regulation and safety management systems (SMS). Between 2005 and 2015, he served as Technical Manager at European Rail Infrastructure Managers (EIM) in Brussels and International Union of Railways (UIC) in Paris, contributing to European operational rules, interoperability, and common safety frameworks. His primary focus is bridging operational reality, regulatory requirements, and safety culture.

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113- Experience on the Assessment and Supervision of Relations between Infrastructure Managers and Contracted Infrastructure Managers

Author: Chameat Lancereau

Position and Entity: Head of the Infrastructure Division / Supervision Department of EPSF (NSA FR)
Country: France
Short Biography: With a specialized master’s degree in QHSE, Chameat joined the EPSF in 2014 as an inspector in the Infrastructure Division. She subsequently advanced to the position of chief inspector before being appointed head of the division responsible for supervising infrastructure operators. She has participated in numerous cross-functional projects, such as the RÉSYGESS project (evaluation of rail operators to contribute to the supervision strategy), which has enabled her to strengthen her expertise and her overall understanding of the challenges facing the EPSF.

Moderator: TBA

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6 - An innovative approachto incorporating cyber resilience into the railway sector.

Author: Francisco Cabrera
Position and Entity: Deputy Head of Operations & Safety, International Union of Railways (UIC)
Country: France
Short Biography: Francisco Cabrerais a Civil Engineer specialized in railway systems, currently serving as Deputy Head of Operations & Safety at International Union of Railways (UIC) in Paris. He has over 15 years of experience at ADIF, where he held key roles in infrastructure engineering, asset management, and strategic projects. His expertise spans technical, operational, and innovation domains, contributing to the advancement of safe, efficient, resilient and sustainable railway systems.

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109 - Rail resilience to climate change- Impact of extreme weather events on the European rail system

Author: Idriss Pagand
Position and Entity: Project officer, European Union Agency for Railways (ERA)
Country: European Union
Short Biography: Idriss Pagand has served at ERA for 15 years, leading environmental and climate adaptation research programmes for the past 5 years, alongside guest lecturing at the Universities of Lyonand Lille.‍

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Speaker: Devid Ganz
Position and Entity (Speaker): Project officer, European Union Agency for Railways (ERA)
Country: European Union
Short Biography (Speaker): Devid Ganz is a railway safety professional with over 15 years of experience in the rail sector. Holding bachelor’s degree in environmental and Workplace Prevention Techniques and master’s degree in public policies and administration, he worked as Safety Manager for a Railway Undertaking for more than ten years before joining the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) in 2023. He currently works in ERA's Safety Certification Unit, managing the assessment and issuance of Single Safety Certificates for railway undertakings.

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110 - A rail safety regulator’s response to the challenge of extreme weather events

Author: Dr. Natalie Pelham
Position and Entity: Chief Executive & National Rail Safety Regulator, Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator
Country: Australia
Short Biography: Dr. Natalie Pelham is a nationally recognised authority in safety regulation, policy and reform with more than 25 years in the public sector at both state and national levels. She is passionate about rail safety and is a strong advocate for safety improvement. Since being appointed Australia’s National Rail Safety Regulator in 2023, Natalie has positioned the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR) to enhance its regulatory intelligence framework for risk-based regulation, expand its collaborative relationships with key stake holders and to be a sustainable regulator demonstrating that it is efficient and effective. This position strikes the right balanceto enable ONRSR to grow its positive influence on rail safety practices and outcomes across Australia.

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Moderator: TBA

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75 - Implementing a Driver Competency Inspection Programme to Strengthen SafetyCulture in Safety CriticalRailway Operations

Author: David Assunção
Position and Entity: Rail Fleet Maintenance Manager, Infraestruturas de Portugal, SA (IP)
Country: Portugal
Short Biography: David Gonçalves Marcos d’Assunção is Rail Fleet Maintenance Manager at Infraestruturas de Portugal, the national railway infrastructure manager. He specialises in maintenance development and safety-critical functions within the ECM framework, ensuring alignment with European railway safety regulations. His track record includes rolling-stock calibration systems, driver competency frameworks, and patented railway measurement technologies.

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82 - Synergy and Collective Resilience

Author: Zoe TSE
Position and Entity: General Manager (Operations Safety & Quality), MTR Corporation Limited
Country: Hong Kong
Short Biography: Zoe Tse has over 25 years of experience in metro design, construction, operation, and maintenance. She currently leads MTR's integrated management systems in Hong Kong, applying condition-based monitoring, reliability-centred maintenance (RCM), and safety critical asset reviews. She is a Civil Engineer and a fellow of the UK Permanent Way Institution.

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83 - Building a Proactive Safety Culture Through Technology and Workforce Partnership

Author: Ngoh Peng Guan
Position and Entity: Senior Vice President & Head of Group Safety, Security, Risk and Sustainability, SBS Transit Ltd
Country: Singapore
Short Biography: Ngoh Peng Guan brings over 31 yearsof public transport leadership experience, overseeing safety, security, risk, and sustainability across SBS Transit's multi-modal network. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours), a Master of Science in Transportation, and a Master of Business Adminsitration (MBA), and serves on Singapore’s Workplace Safety and Health Committee.

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87 - Safety Culture in the European railway sector: key lessons from Peer Reviews (2022–2026)

Author: Virginie Papillault
Position and Entity: International Union of Railways (UIC)
Country: France
Short Biography: Virginie Papillault worked for 2 years at SNCF as an ergonomist, in the infrastructure and traction departments. She joined the UIC safety team in 2008 as a Human Factors expert. In 2014, she went to the UIC Security team to develop the Human and Organisational Factors (HOF) activities. Since 2021, she has been responsible for HOF & Safety Culture within the UIC Safety Unit. Together with the editorial team & the ERA, she developed the RAIL HOF digital platform and is also working on the impact of automation in railways and the related cultural changes. She has recently conducted several Safety Culture Peer Reviews in Europe and developed the Safety Culture Peer Review Handbook for UIC members; she will be coordinating future Peer Reviews in the rail sector. She has an Executive Specialised master’s in HOF in Industrial Safety Management" (ICSI) and a Masters in Ergonomic and Human Factors.

115 - The resilience needed to implement needed resilience measures

‍Author: Rui Velasco Martins‍
Position and Entity: IMT Cabinet of the Board of Directors‍
Country: Portugal‍
Short Biography: Transport and mobility specialist with extensive experience in strategic planning and public policy, with a particular focus on rail. At Portugal’s Institute for Mobility and Transport (IMT), was part of the team that developed the Portuguese National Railway Plan, alongside work on sustainable and intelligent mobility, public transport policy, transport data and transport climate adaptation. With a professional background combines transport planning, territorial development, strategic analysis and international cooperation, including numerous representations as Portuguese Delegate at the European Commission and the United Nations. Master's degree in human Geography and Regional and Local Planning and post-graduation in Climate Change and Sustainable Development.

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114 - Railway Military Mobility - Infrastructure, Cybersecurity and Innovation Challenges

‍Author: Pedro Simões‍
Position and Entity: Policy Officer for Military Mobility, Institute for Mobility and Transport (IMT)‍
Country: Portugal‍
Short Biography: Pedro Costa Simões holds a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and has published articles on defence and innovation systems. A Senior Engineer with experience across both the public and private sectors, his professional background combines international experience with work in defence, mobility and transport, including experience within Portugal’s National Railway Safety Authority. A former officer in the Portuguese Army, he currently serves as Policy Officer for Military Mobility at Portugal’s Institute for Mobility and Transport (IMT).

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NSA PT Presentation

‍Author: Joana Coelho‍
Position and Entity: Head of Department of NSA PT in IMT‍
Short Biography: Joana Coelho is a Civil Engineer, specialised in Structural Engineering, with professional experience initially focused on the housing and construction sector. Since 2023, she has been working in the transport sector within the Portuguese railway safety authority. Throughout her railway career, she has been primarily involved in the authorisation of fixed installations and railway safety supervision activities, contributing to the assessment of infrastructure projects and compliance with national and European railway safety requirements. In May 2026, she assumed the leadership of the Portuguese National Safety Authority (NSA PT), operating within the Instituto da Mobilidade e dos Transportes (IMT). In this role, she oversees safety regulatory activities, supervision, authorisation processes, and the promotion of continuous improvement in railway safety across Portugal.

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Detailed Programme

09:15 - 09:30

Technical visit (TBC)

14:00 – 15:30

Champalimaud Auditorium

09:15 - 09:30

Conference Registration

14:00 – 16:00

Auditorium

09:15 - 09:30

Stakeholders Meeting

16:00 – 17:30

Auditorium

09:15 - 09:30

Welcome Cocktail

18:00– 21:00

FIL | Rua do Bojador, Parque das Nações 1998-010 Lisbon (IRSC venue)

09:15 - 09:30

Conference Registration

08:30 – 09:00

Champalimaud Auditorium

09:15 - 09:30

Opening Ceremony

09:00 - 10:30

Auditorium

09:15 - 09:30

Coffee Break and E-Poster Presentation

10:30 – 11:00

Auditorium

09:15 - 09:30

Keynote Session

10:30 - 11:15

Auditorium

09:15 - 09:30

Lunch

12:30 – 14:00

Auditorium

09:15 - 09:30

Session 1 | Initial integrity & Change Management

14:00 – 15:30

Auditorium

09:15 - 09:30

Coffee Break and E-Poster Presentation

15:30– 16:00

Auditorium

Session 2 | Maintenance & Management of emergencies

16:00 – 17:30

Auditorium

Gala Dinner

18:30 – 22:00

Quinta da Pimenteira | Estr. Pimenteira, 1300-125 Lisbon

09:15 - 09:30

Conference Registration

8:30 – 9:00

Champalimaud Auditorium

09:15 - 09:30

Conference Registration

08:30 – 09:00

Champalimaud Auditorium

09:15 - 09:30

Session 3 | Resilience to extreme natural events

09:00 - 10:30

Auditorium

09:15 - 09:30

Coffee Break and E-Poster Presentation

10:30 – 11:00

Auditorium

09:15 - 09:30

Session 4 | Front line workers

11:00 - 12:30

Auditorium

09:15 - 09:30

Lunch

12:30 – 14:00

Auditorium

09:15 - 09:30

Session 5 | Competence & Culture

14:00 – 15:30

Auditorium

09:15 - 09:30