In recognition of the 4th international conference of railway stations, organised by UIC and the Russian Railways (RZD), on 17 and 18 October 2013 in Moscow’s Kazan station, UIC is currently preparing a special edition dedicated to Railway stations and covering among other subjects the subject of renovation, with the study of 15 renovated railway stations around the world.
Next station is a unique opportunity to highlight emerging issues related to stations, which now more than ever are used to showcase the railway world.
Issues related to their development are huge and depending on the context, they operate in different ways. The renovation of stations is not a recent phenomenon, but now seems to have accelerated around the world. Today, there is a global competition between the stations to enhance their reputations and to meet the changing needs of passengers.
One of the themes of this special edition to be published end of September will be “Renovated stations” and it will examine 15 stations all over the world, chosen as the best examples of major renovation changes to stations in terms of three different aspects: architectural, commercial and environmental.
The stations are:
- Paris Saint Lazare,
- London Saint Pancras Station,
- Stuttgart Central Station,
- Amsterdam Centraal,
- Brussels Centraal,
- Copenhagen Central Station,
- Madrid Atocha Station,
- Zurich Main Station,
- Rome Termini Station,
- Tokyo Station,
- Kazan Station,
- Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Station,
- New York Grand Central Station,
- Rabat Ville Railway Station,
- Seoul Station.
To prepare the special edition of this UIC eNnews in collaboration with its members, UIC organised a series of visits to stations. This UIC eNews, which should lead to a Technical Handbook on the stations studied, will be published before Next Station.
The first visit was to the Amsterdam central station on 8 August 2013, including a meeting between a representative of UIC and officials from Railways NS. One of the major tasks on the agenda of the meeting was to collect information about the station and the ongoing station renovation projects.
Amsterdam Centraal: An ambitious project for the total renovation of the station, including the creation of new terminals, a new commercial offer and high quality station services.
This project has taken more than ten years because of the difficulties associated with the station’s location on the water, but in two years’ time it will result in an extraordinary monument for the railway world.
The second visit was to the Gare du Nord station in Paris on 12 August 2013.
This is an example of a station in the centre of a dense urban network; here, the issues facing the station renovation include problems posed by historic buildings and limited space for extension due to lack of land. The project is unique, as it undertakes to rebuild the station on the station.
A modern and futuristic station in a historical context, Paris Gare du Nord is an example of the issues faced by major European stations in the 21st century.
This is the first step in an interesting project and there will be more visits as UIC prepares its study on the renovated stations. This study represents a global overview and UIC will share it with its members on the occasion of the international Next Station conference.
