How to Plan a Good Railway Station

Despite all of the attention they get, stations and stops remain under appreciate as the main interface between public transit users and services. In this latest video I discuss what we can do to create better stations and stops.

As always, leave a comment down below if you have ideas for our future videos. Like, subscribe, and hit the bell icon so you won't miss my next video!

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Hi, my name's Reece. I'm a passionate Creator, Transportation Planner, and Software Developer, interested in rapid transportation all around my home base of Toronto, Canada, as well as the whole world!

[Hollandstation]

As a Dutch person, I really like Utrecht centraal station! It's definitely a topic where I want to make a video about. I really had a laugh when you mentioned the massive bicycle parking garage at Amsterdam Centraal station ;)

[andrewclarkson]

Good video! I am personally irritated when I see single elevators in transit systems. Ever since going to Hong Kong, where transit elevators always seem to occur in pairs, I have realized the importance of redundancy. Whenever one is out of operation, you can take the other. Because Toronto has retrofitted their old stations with only single elevators, it means that mobility challenged people would have to go to a different station to use transit when the elevator doesn't work. This is crazy. Putting in a second elevator when you put in the first has a cost, but it is a cost you would bear if you truly care about the customer experience.

[MercenaryPen]

arguably a country with little rail transport could use good railway stations more than countries with more and better rail services- if only because a station is the first impression a new passenger gets for any rail system

[neolithictransitrevolution]

Great points as always, I do think all stations can have a shop though. Even if its just a little convinces/store news paper booth type set up. Renting out the far ends of a platform creates either a revenue stream for operations, or a low cost space for a small business to start operating. And having eyes on the station makes users feel a little safer.

Another things I would add are Public washrooms at most rail stops or BRT stops.

Overhead development is great in dense cities, and provides some revenue to keep the station kclean and built in users, and as mentioned TOD for community centers in general.

[chongjunxiang]

A good station is when your station and its vicinity practically become a town centre of that area, where people expect to come here everyday for all sort of daily activity. Mostly Singapore and Hong Kong, where new housing development put a station as the focal point, would be the best example.

Also it would be cool if your train station can do more than its supposed function, such as civil defense. Most underground stations of Singapore are air raid bunker with necessities prepared all the time. There was one big flood in KL where a huge station has function as victim shelter for weeks. Wonder if there is other examples?

[AaronSmith-sxez]

Most important station design element IMO is reducing walk time (both within the station and getting to the station). If you have to walk 7 minutes just inside the station (like some Chinese metros) just to get onto a train, that makes metro less competitive to the car. On the outside, the stations should have doors access points from multiple directions and be located in a high density zoned neighborhoods. Putting a station next to say a huge used car dealership lot is a huge waste. A good transit engineer should consider walk time in seconds for all contingencies and work to minimize it.

[danieldegoutiere]

Wow Reese!

I actually think this is one of your very best videos (and I've followed you for quite a while now)

I really love your point concerning shade as the climate changes and your point about passive design elements as opposed to heavy surveillance. Shade is definitely an undervalued aspect of shelter design and passive design is (in my opinion) the best way to encourage good behaviour as opposed to discouraging bad behaviour.

I'd love to see some more videos from you about suburbia and (if you're interested) the history of transit planning. I know you're more focused on the future and present day stuff but it would be cool to see you do something like that.

Also, would you ever do a collab with other urbanist youtubers??

[japanesetrainandtravel]

As a Canadian who has visited Japan numerous times - clear signage should be one of the fundamentals of a great station. Clearly pointing out transit connections, numbering station exits and making these signs visible is what Japan excels at and what Toronto needs to make improvements on. Even as a visitor to Japan, I could easily tell a friend to meet me at exit 3, or easily navigate throughout a concourse.

[squelchedotter]

The sad truth behind shelters and shades often being lacking is that they are often deliberately removed to prevent homeless people from using them. Another unfortunate way in which being unwilling to provide safety for all makes life worse for everyone, especially people with accessibility needs.

[adithyaramachandran]

It's shocking how terrible transfers are at many US stations between the local transit (Subway or light rail) and intercity transit. Take for example Atlanta. You have ZERO transfer points between MARTA's subway network, GRTA Buses, the streetcar, and Amtrak. I think Amtrak should be extended close to downtown. It's in the far end of the city.

[onethreefivesix]

I think a good example for ticket machines is Melbourne's suburban network, which has multiple ticket machines at larger station and ticket/customer service counters at larger stations and at some small suburban stations.

[cawsha]

I think it is necessary to get the right balance when providing shops, catering etc. If a station becomes a destination in its own right it can get uncomfortably crowded and inconvenient for people who are just there to get on or off a train.

[alistairlee]

I live in DC and a 7 minute walk down on 14th St is U Street station. I liked that when you arrive at a station in DC, there are exit signs posted on the metro signs.

[bryanCJC]

Chicago has two major train stations next to each other, Ogilvie Station and Union Station, and they couldn't be more different. Although one thing they have in common is they are not directly connected to the city's L system.

Ogilvie is modern station (100, 000+ riders/day and 16 tracks) with clean sightlines, information monitors, nice retail, and easy access to all the platforms. It also has decent bus connections immediately outside the main entrance. It's an easy station to get into, navigate, get the information you need, and find your track platform.

Union Station is a beautiful historic building (140, 000+ riders/day and 24 tracks) but it is a labyrinth of claustrophobic corridors, side room, cubby holes, and stairs and escalators, inside. No single corridor runs the length of the station and the turns and elevation changes are sure to leave you totally disoriented relative to where you are inside the station and the streets outside. Finding the platforms can also be difficult. As for bus connections, it has plenty but finding them can also be tricky as the station can be accessed from various sides and once you're in it, it's hard to tell which side you're on. It's a huge shame because the old part of the station is gorgeous.

[ordinaryorca]

Shade is so important, I once had to wait an hour for a train in a heatwave with only glass shelters, I had to sit on the ground in the shadow of the overpass and shuffle along when that skylaser moved too much, one of my worst experiences ever.

[NicholasBhagasinsan]

One more thing to add, you should add more comfortable sitting benches in Stations.

Stations here in Indonesia have terrible reclining standing benches to avoid the homeless from sleeping in the station, which is unfortunate because they just make it inconvenient for people that are waiting for trains

[Doddibot]

So glad to see glass shelters mentioned, they're so bad in summertime.

[MultiRanman]

While not quite in the best location in the city, Amtrak’s 30th street station is iconic and is a good passenger experience. It has regional rail, subway, bus, and pedestrian connections. It’s not enormous or too small, although it could be closer to downtown. The waiting area could be better organized and the stores are just okay, but it’s one of the best in the state.

[jordanmiller]

In Montreal 65% of people buy their month passes on the first three days of the month. The lineups to use the machines sometimes took up to half an hour.

[cailwi]

pretty comprehensive overall, but for many stations, just having a platform at a height so that you actually can get onto the train without climbing exercises, would be a good start. The amount of Amtrak platforms, where a little stool is provided and the train has to stop at that exact spot, so that one door of the train is opened, and then you hope that people climbing down those vertical steps, don't miss that stool on their way down - that is ridiculous. How much money does it cost to upgrade from stood to platform.
Also, providing restrooms would be a great addition to most rail stations.

Ticketing offices and concession stands all require a certain amount of traffic, but in some ways, convenience and a pleasant experience would help draw traffic in. Bike racks, parking, and convenient bus or other transportation access pretty much makes-or-brakes the mid-size train station, imo.

I love large stations that are basically designed like shopping malls or at least airport terminals, and are major transportation hubs, but so far I have to travel in Europe to find those. Recently been through Zurich and Vienna, both great experiences. You basically don't want to leave, that is how nice they are. And both have full grocery stores built in, and the value-add that the surrounding area gets from such stores, is enormous. 

It's a long way to go here in US, but I still find that huge impressive halls, seem to be the preferred design in the US. For the same amount of money you could build convenient and well functioning stations too. Wonder who allocates these budgets?