The UIC Commuter and Regional Train Services (CRTS) Sector held an engaging and timely online workshop on 10 June 2025, dedicated to the topic of managing commuter and regional railway systems during large-scale events. The session brought together UIC members and mobility stakeholders from across the globe to explore how railway operators are responding to the increasing operational complexity of big events, from international sporting tournaments to large-scale religious and cultural gatherings.
The workshop was moderated by Vanessa Pérez Miranda, Senior Advisor for the UIC Passenger department, and officially opened by Bertrand Minary, Director of the UIC Passenger Department, who welcomed participants and highlighted the strategic importance of integrating operational, commercial and customer-oriented approaches in the management of commuter and regional rail services. He underlined the key themes of the session: multimodality, customer experience and the role of regional systems in supporting national and international events.
Federica Follesa, Chair of the CRTS sector and Regional Contract Manager at Trenitalia, provided an overview of CRTS activities and strategic priorities. She reminded participants of the sector’s role in fostering international exchange, supporting innovation and facilitating the development of flexible, resilient and integrated rail services.
The keynote address was delivered by Thomas Perrot, Senior Mobility Manager at UEFA, who shared the organisation’s approach to planning and coordinating rail mobility for major football events such as UEFA EURO 2024. He emphasised the importance of early engagement with rail operators and infrastructure managers to ensure seamless travel experiences, particularly in contexts involving tens of thousands of international supporters.
Security aspects were addressed by Laura Petersen, Senior Security Research Advisor at UIC, who introduced the work of the UIC Security Platform and its guidance on managing security during major events. Drawing on lessons from the Paris 2024 Olympic preparations, she emphasised the need for collaborative planning, technological readiness and fostering a “security culture” among staff at all levels.
A key part of the workshop was devoted to sharing concrete case studies from recent and upcoming big events:
- Laura Marchetti, Head of Commercial Offer for Trenitalia’s Lazio Regional Directorate, presented the operational strategies implemented during an exceptionally intense period in Rome, which included the death of Pope Francis, the papal funeral, the election of the new Pope Leone XIV and the Jubilee of Adolescents. Trenitalia had to swiftly adapt to a series of unexpected and planned events in close succession. She detailed the deployment of additional services around Roma Termini and Roma San Pietro, the organisation of extraordinary trains on weekends and holidays, and the close coordination with Vatican authorities, local government and emergency services to respond to sharply increased demand – particularly from international pilgrims.
- Delphine Comolet, Director of the TGV 2030 Programme and Project Manager for Transilien during the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, shared SNCF’s experience in managing multimodal operations, implementing crowd management systems and preparing crisis scenarios for the Games.
- Paolo Bellingreri, Marketing Manager at Trenord, discussed the preparations for the Milano–Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, highlighting the scale of the event, the distribution of venues across northern Italy and the deployment of high-frequency services connecting hubs such as Milan, Bormio and Malpensa Airport.
- János Földiák, Service Development Coordinator at MÁV-START, shared insights from managing seasonal passenger flows during Hungary’s Lake Balaton festivals, focusing on operational flexibility and integration with local transport networks.
- Fabrice Morenon, Managing Director at Hubs & Connexions (SNCF), detailed the station management strategy for the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Monaco, where space limitations and high-density demand require meticulous planning and real-time coordination.
The workshop concluded with a collective reflection on the key factors behind successful railway operations during big events: early stakeholder engagement, flexible service planning, robust communication strategies and close integration of infrastructure and operations. Participants also underlined the value of continued exchange through CRTS and UIC networks.
Looking ahead: CRTS training course in Paris from 29 to 31 October 2025
The next CRTS activity will be the 8th CRTS training course, to be held in Paris from 29 to 31 October 2025 in cooperation with Hitachi, McKinsey and EELISA. This in-person course will explore the theme: “Commuters and Leisure Travellers: Different Needs, Same Train”. Focusing on the coexistence of daily passengers and leisure users on regional services, the training course will include case studies, group workshops and expert-led sessions designed to improve operational and commercial practices in a multimodal context.
More information and registration details will be shared soon through UIC’s official channels.
For further information on CRTS activities, please visit:
🔗 https://uic.org/passenger/commuter-and-regional-train-services-training
