WELCOME

Welcome to the newsletter of the European Rail Congress, a two day industry Summit and annual Rail Awards ceremony. Our monthly newsletters will keep you informed with everything you need to know about the Event. They will also include insightful commentary and analysis on topical issues from key players across the European rail market.

WHAT MAKES A RAILWAY STATION GREAT?

At their most basic level railway stations are places for accessing rail travel and need to offer sufficient capacity, travel information and ticketing facilities in order to function as efficiently as possible. At a broader level, they are also transport interchanges and community institutions. At an innovative level, stations combine all these elements with inspiring, iconic design and architecture, cutting edge technology, high quality retail and dining facilities and cultural offerings.

Stations cannot be seen in isolation - they are part of the total journey experience. They are often tightly linked with their local community and effectively act as the gateway to both town and railway and leave passengers with their lasting impressions of both.

Passengers want a smart station with easy access by public transport and cycling and with a safe and pleasant environment with modern facilities. Europe is fortunate to have many railway stations that represent best practice. These Awards will showcase this success across Large, Medium and Small sized stations by making an award for Best European Rail Station of the Year across these three categories.

The judges are calling for your entries which provide evidence of your improvements made to an existing station, or your delivery of a new one, which has encouraged greater rail use. Improvements could include those made to the station environment such as better waiting facilities; new retail outlets; cultural attractions; passenger information and ticketing services; safety and security practices or features; improved access; provision for cycling; and integration with other modes such as bus, coach or tram.

Enter online to win EUROPEAN RAIL STATION OF THE YEAR by 19th April 2013 at www.europeanrailcongress.com

For the other 18 categories available to enter, please visit our website.

MORE THAN A TRAIN STATION: HIGH SPEED 1 LTD'S CREATION OF A EUROPEAN 'DESTINATION STATION'

Walking through St Pancras International in London today I was struck - as I often am - by what a very different kind of station it is. Travellers spread across the vast station, enjoying the facilities and meeting spaces on offer. There are no groups of people standing under a large departure board waiting patiently for their platform number to appear. Putting monitors in most of the retail and catering outlets at St Pancras International has proved a successful innovation - the monitors enable people to wait there for trains in comfort, relaxed and able to enjoy their coffee, food or shopping. 48 million people passed through the station last year but it doesn't generally feel crowded.

What really gives St Pancras International its edge is the balance of the historic and the modern and the continuing search for high quality new initiatives. Making facilities attractive to non-travellers has been something of a balancing act. Of course, St Pancras International is first and foremost a travel hub and it has to function as a railway station as efficiently as possible. At HS1 Ltd we work extremely hard to make sure our operational performance is comparable with any railway across the World. Nevertheless research shows that about 25% of people visiting the station don't come to travel. Instead they are attracted by the beauty of the building or by the arts and cultural programmes we have. READ MORE...

Nicola Shaw, CEO, High Speed 1 Ltd