The Vinko Beznik police training centre in Gotenica is hosting an international exercise on safety in railway traffic organised by Railpol - European Association of Railway police forces and the Slovenian police. Police officers and police experts from 16 European countries are taking part in the training.
Video: International training for police officers from special public order units
Explosion on a train full of passengers caused by an armed perpetrator
Today police officers from special police units in charge of public order from Spain, Serbia, Slovakia, Czechia, Austria and Slovenia performed a joint exercise of response to an explosion on a train in the first out of five exercises taking place in the upcoming days. According to the scenario of the exercise, an explosion takes place on a train after it arrives to the Gotenica train station. The first explosion is followed by a second explosion that starts a fire on the train.
Police are notified on the explosion and dozens of police officers in charge of public order arrive on the scene. According to the initial information, several of the approximately 30 passengers on the train are injured. The primary police task is to protect and save lives. The special units begin by securing the wider area around the train to ensure safety before evacuating the passengers to safety, provide first aid to the injured and perform secondary triage.
The armed perpetrator is hiding among the passengers. Police officers perform all their procedures with tact and full attention and are not taken by surprise, when one of the passengers pulls out a gun and starts making threats during the evacuation. They quickly neutralise the attacker, remove his weapon and take him into detention.
Members of the Railpol Working Group attended the training as observers and evaluators and closely followed the activities of the units, their coordinated response and performance of police tasks.
Joint international trainings are essential for coordinated response
"The beginnings of Railpol date back to 2004, when it only had four participating countries. Today, the association has 22 partner countries, most of them EU members as well as overseas partners like Canada and the USA. Railpol is a very operationally oriented police association and one of our key objectives is to share information and best practices. To this end, we have five working groups that form the core of Railpol, including the working group Public Order, which organises the Railex training every year. As you can see, police officers from different countries have to work together to carry out various exercises. This is more complex than it appears because police officers speak different languages. In reality this is a challenge that we face in policing. We are very happy to hold a training here, in Slovenia. Slovenia has been an important member of Railpol for many years, it also participates in most of the working groups and puts a lot of effort into the work. We are very happy for an opportunity like today, to be able to practice here together," said Railpol Managing Director John Laene.
"On the ground, police officers from different countries work together in joint patrols. For example, in a joint international operation, trains run from one country to another, with each national unit leading only half of entire mixed team. Legislation is the main challenge. The fact is that if our area of work is well regulated, police officers can cross the border and still use their powers. We are therefore advocating a legislation that would make it easier for police officers to do their job," added Laene.
