In many countries, passengers are central to railway systems, because they are the consumers, whose needs and expectations need to be fulfilled. Thus, it is important to first know who these travellers are and what their wishes and demands are, before developing a railway network.

We can distinguish principally between two passenger types: “must”; and “lust” passengers – or those who travel for work or school with predefined schedule, and those who travel for enjoyment, such as tourists.

Both types of traveller meet a common obstacle in the station though: transferring to another network. The railway station has two identities:

• The station as a node – a point of access to trains and transfer to other transportation networks.
• At the same time, it is an urban location, part of a city with infrastructure and a collection of buildings and open spaces. This creates opportunities to improve the experience of travellers waiting for their transfer.

The pyramid model (below) shows the requirements that need to be met at stations to satisfy the travellers.

If the standard of one of the levels is not high enough for the passenger, the whole experience in the station will be affected.Safety and reliability are the baseline, which needs to be up to a certain standard (depending on the country), otherwise the travellers will avoid the station entirely. However, the importance of the other requirements differs.

Speed and ease of travelling through a station are generic requirements, but are potentially even more important for commuters than leisure travellers. If those factors are not met, a negative impression is generated.

If passengers have to spend time at a station, for instance between trains, then comfort and experience, which refers to sheltered waiting areas and the availability of facilities, such as shops, are possibly more important.

Above, we spoke about how safety and reliability need to be up to a certain standard, depending on the country. Below, you are welcome to submit some of your country’s requirements. This can include special requirements to aid those with disabilities. This is not a graded discussion.

New train designs and technology

Trains travelling over long (international) distances have been rather luxurious from the very beginning, whereas trains for daily use were designed to just move people, regardless of comfort. Metro trains are a good example of this, since most people travel in them for less than 15 minutes. However, in commuter trains, facilities have increased rapidly over the past years to include more comfortable seating, wifi, power outlets, room for laptops and onboard catering.

In addition, travel information is much more detailed and is brought to customers in real-time. With the ubiquity of mobile devices with the internet nowadays, apps play an important role in this. Especially when your route changes or when you miss your regular connections, phones bring the next best solution in seconds. New interstate trains within the Netherlands even are equipped with GPS-signals, so travellers know exactly where each train is. Waiting becomes much less frustrating when you know what the problem is and how long it will take before the next train arrives.

Image of Dutch travel app: from left to right: disruptions, available bicycles at station, gps and speed of an individual train, chosen journey including recommended transfers and the start-up screen with a direct shortcut to home, work and other set destinations.

Station

Another prominent way to increase comfort is to add value to the railway station itself, which we will look at in more detail within the next section. To introduce this topic we can already define three different levels in which the station and the surrounding area can enhance the travellers experience.

1. Acceleration
   For most commuters, the station is a transition point, so their station experience is most improved if there time spent there is reduced. This is possible by increasing the average speed of the train and reducing waiting times at the station. However, while passengers want shorter waiting times at the stations, especially the commuter, if a train is delayed, this can result in passengers missing the next transfer, so a careful balance must be found. More information about this topic and timetabling will be in week 3 of this course.
2. Enhancement
   Thus, if you must wait, another way to make time at the station more pleasant is to enhance the time spent there. This can be achieved by transforming the enforced idleness of waiting into beneficial time, by making more facilities available, such as shops and cafes, but this can also be a library, exhibition or music.
3. Concentration
   In addition, if you your station is conveniently located, then travellers don’t need to rely on (and further wait for) other modes of transport to get from door-to-door. Thus concentrating facilities, such as housing, companies and leisure centers, closer to the station in greater densities enhance the station’s centrality. Other transport modes for getting to or leaving the railway station will then be eliminated, which will remove much of the hustle.