Railway stations that are more functional to customer needs and more integrated with the urban fabric can contribute to the development of smart cities: connected, sustainable and digitized cities of the future.
This new station concept was illustrated by Renato Mazzoncini, CEO of the FS Italiane Group and president of the Union Internationale des Chemins de fer (UIC), at the sixth edition of NextStations 2017 – Smart station in smart cities, scheduled in Madrid until to 21 October.
“Railway stations – underlined Mazzoncini – are no longer just places where a journey begins or ends. They are also turning into real meeting points, new city squares. In fact, our analysis showed that every day there are about 400% more people who frequent some of the largest Italian stations to meet, go shopping or use integrated transport services compared to the number of customers departing or arriving with the train. If we consider that there are around 27 billion rail passengers in the world, we can easily realize how important it is to adapt stations to customer needs. It is therefore essential - continued Mazzoncini - to improve functionality, value, appeal, integration with the city, to make railway stations - both large and medium/small ones - not only efficient transport poles, but also poles of attraction and services for the area”.
There are over 2.200 railway stations in Italy. In line with the 2017-2026 Business Plan of the FS Italiane Group in terms of development of integrated collective mobility and attention to the customer experience, Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (National infrastructure manager) has launched a program to improve accessibility (reduction of architectural barriers and redevelopment interventions), safety and public information systems (audio and video) in 620 stations over 10 years. Total economic investment around 2,5 billion.
By the end of 2017 the renovation and removal of architectural barriers will be completed with an investment
total of 220 million euros in 50 stations distributed throughout the national territory. An equal number of interventions are planned for 2018. Finally, digital technologies will also improve the accessibility of stations: for example, the installation of new turnstiles for the automated control of access to platforms and the validation of electronic tickets is envisaged, and the extension to new stations of the “Wi-Life Station” project, the station's virtual portal for travel information and other utilities.
“To transform railway stations from places linked only to travel to new squares for cities – concluded Mazzoncini – it is necessary to integrate them with services useful for improving the quality of life. In Italy, for example, we are thinking of equipping our stations with e-commerce points, hotel businesses and a network of commercial services where you can also find basic necessities, as happens in motorway rest areas".
