EBC Railway Committee Meeting: February 6, 2026

EBC Railway Committee, meeting minutes

The meeting was held on 6 February, 2026.

Present were:

Micael Winkler, Knorr Bremse

Wakako Suga, Knorr Bremse

Masako Ozawa, Illies

Hartmut Pannen, Illies

Alex Sougoumarin, Saft

Bjorn Kongstad, EBC

The new Chair reported back from the recent briefing with the European Union Ambassador, which was attended by several other committee chairs. The discussion provided useful insights into current priorities and opportunities for enhanced engagement.

The Committee agreed to explore closer cooperation with other EBC committees on topics of common interest. One potential area identified was cybersecurity, particularly in collaboration with the newly established Digital Committee. Members noted that cybersecurity does not yet appear to receive sufficient attention among Japanese operators. In this context, reference was made to the Cyber Resilience Act, which European manufacturers are currently implementing, and which could serve as a useful framework for dialogue.

It was further agreed to explore the possibility of meetings with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), as well as with East Japan Railway Company and selected rolling stock manufacturers, including Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kinki Sharyo and Hitachi, to exchange views on cybersecurity and related regulatory developments.

One Railway Committee member will exhibit at Osaka Mass-Trans Innovation Japan in May. Unfortunately, there will be no EBC booth at the event.

The next Railway Committee meeting is scheduled for 26 March.

The 2026 meeting schedule will look like this (all meetings from 16H00, hybrid at the EBC):

26MAR
16APR
18MAY
30JUN
16JUL
01SEP
06OCT
09NOV
14DEC