Programme synopsis

Day 1, Wednesday 18 April 2012 – morning session

Creating rail stations that rival the airport experience

Opening speech from conference chair Maria Ayerdi-Kaplan, executive director, Transbay Joint Powers Authority

The modernisation of the Austrian federal railway station network
ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG, the owner and operator of Austrian Federal Railways’ infrastructure, embarked on a railway station campaign in 2001, which saw ÖBB modernise some of the country's busiest railway stations. The main aim of the campaign was to improve passenger wayfinding, customer service and security. In the first five years of the project stations in Feldkirch, Graz, Innsbruck, Baden, Krems an der Donau, Linz, Wiener Neustadt, Leoben, Wels and Klagenfurt were modernised. And since 2005 stations in Vienna, including Heiligenstadt, Praterstern and Meidling have also been updated. Most recently, ÖBB reopened the modernised Vienna West railway station, which accommodates approximately 43,000 passengers a day. The company is now working on Austria’s largest railway station, Vienna Main Station, which once finished will handle approximately 145,000 people a day.
Speaker name TBC, ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG

Revitalising the busiest passenger transportation facility in Canada
Toronto Union Station in Canada was built in the 1920s and is currently undergoing its first extensive revitalisation. The historic station has become the hub for the GO Transit commuter rail service, and is now the busiest transportation facility in Canada with 200,000 daily passengers, which presents great construction challenges. GO is rebuilding the 35,000m2 train shed, which will feature a dramatic glass atrium. The antiquated track and signal system is also being modernised. Furthermore, GO is funding improvements being constructed by the City of Toronto, which will triple the concourse area and improve access to platforms.
Michael Wolczyk, director, Union Station Rail Corridor Infrastructure, GO Transit

How will Le Grand Paris transform Paris’ rail network?
Rail stations have evolved dramatically over the past few decades. They are gradually following in the footsteps of the aviation industry and becoming, like airports, multi-modal hubs, which offer much more than just a location to catch a train. Train stations are becoming the focal points of entire cities, with many facilities being built in and around them. Le Grand Paris is one good example of a project that sees the train station at the heart of a city or town. The US$30 million project involves the construction of 57 new stations, which will link the suburbs around Paris.
Pierre-Michel Delpeuch, managing director of Atelier Villes & Paysages

London: a 21st-century transport system within a famous historic environment
Paddington Station is a Grade 1 listed (historic) building and is shortlisted as a potential UNESCO World Heritage site as part of the Great Western Railway developed by Brunel in the 1850s. The original station is now part of a major interchange that requires expansion and modernisation. The proposals for Paddington show how the station and its surrounds will be reorganised to provide new facilities, within a congested urban environment, while preserving and enhancing the existing architecture. The masterplan is technically challenging, utilising existing structures and involving major excavations adjacent to the station. Once complete, the scheme will transform this area of London such that it will act as one of the major transport interchanges of the city. Approximately €500 million of construction work has been let and is due for completion in the next few years.
Rob Naybour, director, Weston Williamson

How can railway terminals learn from the airport industry?
This presentation will look at how the railway terminal industry can benefit from the lessons learned within the airport terminal in order to optimise customer experience, boost quality levels and increase revenues. With a solid track record at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Tony Wijntuin will look at proven concepts, experiences and pitfalls from his airport retail background, and share his vision and insights on how to leverage on customer demand, third space demand, high traffic potential and new technology in the railway terminal environment.
Tony Wijntuin, managing director/owner, Wyne Strategy & Innovation

Day 1, Wednesday 18 April 2012 – afternoon session

The 21st century rail traveller: High expectations for high speed rail travel
In an extensive survey ran together with YouGov, Amadeus asked 7,000 consumers in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the UK what they think about the high speed rail travel experience, whether that be for business or for pleasure. What the results show is that for the passenger, travelling is not simply a matter of getting from A to B as quickly as possible, but about the total travel experience. The traveller has high expectations of the service provided to them, and of the comfort and ease of the journey. They expect to be offered a similar service to that provided by airports and airlines, which means railways have some way to go in improving the passenger’s experience of the station – from reducing the long queues, to providing station staff with better means to deal with bookings.
Thomas Drexler, director, Amadeus Rail

How can we enhance the railway passenger experience?
This presentation will focus on how railway operators can enhance the passenger experience by developing a commercial offer that delivers a retail experience beyond the normal functional and convenience-led offer. By creating a more experience- and entertainment-led offer, railway terminals will become more attractive destinations – not just for passengers but for local residents and employees too. The presentation will highlight how railway operators and stations can up their game; why commercial activities are important for operators in terms of revenue and passenger experience; and how stations can become destinations with a real sense of place.
Alan Thompson, director of Developments, Portland Design

Converting rail stations into travel centres
Maximising the partnership between the railway operating organisations, providers of equipment and services with a clear focus on a high level of service to enhance customer experience will lead to optimal commercial return for everyone involved. For Conrac, the German manufacturer of public displays and passenger information systems, this means to supply state-of-the-art technical equipment and software, equipped with the latest features and functions, enabling attractive, straight forward passenger information and infotainment. For the passengers, modern station design and infrastructure leads to a much improved travel experience, which in turn can result in the increased use of public transport. The benefits for the operating organisations are a contribution to the stations’ profitability due to rising passenger numbers and advertising revenues, and cost savings by the use of environmentally friendly equipment with a low cost of ownership. 
Klaus Schipper, product manager, Conrac, Germany

 

Day 2, Thursday 19 April 2012 – morning session

Investment and sustainability

Moderator: TBC

Demonstrating the economic and regenerative impact of investing in railway stations
Typically, appraisal techniques for railway station investments focus only on the ‘first order’ impacts of the investments being made, such as journey time savings for passengers. Research undertaken by Network Rail and Steer Davies Gleave indicates that there are significant local and national benefits that should be taken into account. This paper will present the findings of the research with reference to a number of case studies in the UK and be useful to those seeking to influence funders and partners of the value in their potential investments including public and private sector investors.
Mike Goggin, Steer Davies Gleave – international transport consultants

Using station design to progress the sustainability benefits of rail
This presentation will illustrate the sustainable design principles that can be implemented in stations around the world to reduce their impact on the environment. Pressure to develop environmentally buildings has meant more and more rail stations are utilising ‘loose-fit’ environmental strategies, and this, together with the fact that trains are relatively fuel-efficient, has meant rail is a very ‘green’ way to travel. Railway stations can have inherently low energy use while the large footprint of a station can provide greywater collection, plus sunlight-derived heating and power generation. In addition, refurbishment and renovation means buildings can be ‘recycled’ without demolition and re-building; when new build is required, future proofing minimises the need for later modifications.
Peter Jenkins, architect director, BDP

smartSTORE – innovative, efficient and costumer friendly luggage storing
The new smartSTORE concept represents an innovative system for short- and long-term storage of travellers’ luggage. The smartSTORE concept is a new technological answer to meet the demands and challenges of modern luggage depot services at railway stations. It includes a new boxing system and a robot to handle luggage and packages of different sizes in a self-service automatic unit. It is also very space efficient compared to usual lockers. This presentation will focus on railway passenger needs and expectations with regards to luggage storage and will show the new storage system, which will fit the passengers’ needs best.
Dr. Bernhard Rüger, St.Pölten University of Applied Sciences and Vienna University of Technology; and Dipl.-Ing Hans-Christian Graf, Upper Austria University of Applied Sciences

Day 2, Thursday 19 April 2012 – afternoon session

Implementing disaster management design and technologies

Project RAVE: Reliable and efficient crowd control after major events
During peak hours or after major events, large numbers of passengers pass through rail stations. This may lead to overcrowded platforms and entrances, which can reduce transport efficiency and the passenger’s safety and comfort. The RAVE control system uses objective, automatically captured data to manage traf­fic flows at important hubs, such as railway platforms and entrances. Specially developed control rules translate information on traffic volume into instructions for portal management. Intelligent management like this maximises traffic throughput – for example, at large-scale events – and also helps to avoid safety critical situations on platforms. The effectiveness of this control system was demonstrated at the UEFA Euro 2008 football championships in Austria. Some 44% of the spectators or 22,000 passengers who used an underground station equipped with the RAVE system after a match at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna were able to leave the venue in less than an hour.
Stefan Seer and Roland Krpata, Mobility Department, Austrian Institute of Technology

Early warning fire detection to help risk management and emergency response
Shanghai South Railway Station is a landmark building in China, and represents a modern, large railway, metro and bus terminal complex. This paper presents in detail the design of its very early warning fire detection system, which uses an advanced Air-sampling Smoke Detection (ASD) solution, performance comparison, and features that are used for risk management and emergency response. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) fire development and smoke transport models were used to quantitatively assess fire safety system design in various fire scenarios. Coupled with real life fire tests at an underground metro platform, the CFD prediction is used to evaluate challenging issues associated with a Large Open Space (LOS) and underground platform protection. Risk-informed, performance-based design promotes innovative solutions and new technologies. Finding the optimal solution to satisfy building and fire safety regulations and at the same time, meet risk management and business continuity requirements for modern transit terminals remains a challenge for rail industry. This paper presents the design of a very early warning fire detection system.
Ming He (Australia), Jean-Pierre Baudry (France), Xtralis AG – Xtralis is the leading global provider of powerful solutions for the early detection of fire, gas and security threats

How to evacuate a railway terminal – a simulation case study
How is it possible to evacuate passengers in a railway terminal fast and safely in a case of a terrorist attack or any other kind of disaster? Compared to building evacuations, a railway terminal evacuation offers additional complexity through operational considerations of rail time schedules, as well as complex passenger flows and interactions. This case study offers insights into the central factors influencing evacuation excellence, operational difficulties, as well as into how crowd simulation can improve the odds of a smooth evacuation in reality.
Alex Schmid, managing director, Savannah Simulations

• Future stations – tomorrow’s technologies, design challenges and solutions
• Security and access control – next-generation CCTV, ticketing solutions, alarm systems, behavioural recognition systems, ticket barriers/access control technologies, body scanners, and track safety solutions
• Wayfinding and crowd control – signage and PIDS and modelling systems
• Retail – increasing station revenues and attracting more retail
• Passenger experience – VIP lounges, seating, flooring, lighting and lavatory solutions
• Sustainability and the environment – managing vehicle emissions and pest control, and integrating green solutions, waste management and eco-friendly design
• Design and architecture – future design trends and requirements, and next-generation modelling systems and materials
• Plus presentations about showcase terminals and stations from around the globe