Management model of railway stations with the focus on sustainable development of public transport

Abstract

The article presents the assumptions of a modern management model of railway stations. In this model, the station is perceived as part of a multimodal hub which includes, besides the building used for passenger’ check-in, also railway platforms, access routes and surrounding infrastructure in the form of public transport stops and parking lots and other facilities. The authors point to the necessity of constructing interchange nodes integrating the station with the urban tissue. The article discusses the issue of categorizing stations and standardizing services at railway stations to best meet the needs of users. The authors point out that innovative solutions are the key condition for improving the quality of stations. The station design process should be linked to the current review and the search for innovations in the field of materials, energy, ICT, architecture and passenger services. An interesting direction for the development of railway stations are services related to the sharing economy, such as co-working, car-sharing and bike-sharing. The article also presents the concept of creating an integrated entity managing the passenger station area, a model of solutions in other European countries.