Resource Pack: Railway Station Design - Eltis

Patterns in the ‘experience economy’ are:
- the aim is to let people be part of ‘the script’, which is experienced as an
unforgettable or unique experience;
- anticipating the individual wishes of customers;
- the customer as well as the employer/entrepreneur improvise within the larger
framework of the script;
- the experience happens in a suitable setting or decor;
- the script is determined by personal control and guaranteed freedom;
- other ballast: behind the scenes!
Experiences at train stations
Travelers value a high-quality station environment. The perception of the customer
ranges from highly negative to highly positive impressions. The key in designing a
train station is to first eliminate the negative elements and then stimulate the positive
elements. There is a link with the customer-wish-pyramid for movement: the
dissatisfiers need to be taken care of, while the satisfiers are stimulated. If a traveler
is confronted with a negative experience, they are not open to positive impressions at
that moment. So if people do not feel safe at a train station, they are not open to the
architectonic beauty of the building, for example.
As said, fulfilling individual wishes has become more and more important in our
‘experience economy’. This means that when people travel by Public Transport, the
trip can get extra value when their individual needs are met on their way. This means
that a transport provider need to make sure that travelers should be able to spend
their time as useful, pleasant and/or special as possible.
The appreciation of time that is passed at a train station can be divided in to three
groups: usefulness (‘profit’), pleasure, and meaning (being memorable).
– usefulness (‘profit’)
the time spent at a station is regarded in a positive way because the traveler can fill
some needs. These needs do not have to have anything to do with the trip itself, but it
gives the traveler the feeling that he/she can spend the time at the station in a useful
way. It is time that the traveler otherwise should have spent on another moment
during the day. Lost time turns into productive time.
– pleasure
the time spent at a station is regarded in a positive way because the traveler is being
amused. There are opportunities for relaxing or distraction: the traveler is diverted
from the stress situation in which he/she is. It can be a pleasant surprise for only a
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