Stations of the Future Investigated How Stations Are Changing and Can Be Designed or Adapted to Best Foster Their Central Place in Our Society

Stations today are an essential part of a city and its people. They harbour all types of travellers, serve many different purposes, and have vital implications to a city’s planning, functionality and character.

Moreover, station design and development can play a key role in making public transport more resilient in terms of sustainability, safety, and accessibility.

To support the sector in keeping on track with station development and design, UITP and KONE were proud to lead the project Stations of the Future (2022 – 2023).

Joining forces with KONE, a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry, Stations of the Future investigated how stations are changing and can be designed or adapted to best foster their central place in our society.

Project Results

Designing and Adapting the Stations of Tomorrow: Stations of the Future Reaches Final Stop

For the project, UITP and KONE first identified societal, technological, and economical challenges and trends facing station design in a post-pandemic world.

This resulted in the first study. A second study focused on solutions and best-practice examples of station design allowing public transport networks to meet the changing needs of passengers.

A third and final report merges the first and second studies and is an essential read to anyone with an interest in public transport, station development, and the future of our cities.

"Stations are vital places to attract more users towards public transport – they quite literally can be the starting point to more sustainable mobility. With Stations of the Future, UITP and KONE will provide important recommendations how stations can get ready for the future on multiple aspects such as accessibility, sustainability and urban planning and design, and why it is important to pay special attention to its design and governance."
Daria Kuzmina
Rail Manager at UITP
"Improving the flow of urban life is our mission at KONE, and safe, efficient and accessible public transport stations are crucial elements of the smart and sustainable cities the world needs. We believe close collaboration between all stakeholders is the only way to improve the increasingly complex ecosystems public transport networks are becoming. Partnering with UITP for this project aims to identify the latest trends and surface the needs of PTOs and PTAs to develop even further their operations and services."
Cãlin Hera
Global Business Development Manager, Major Projects, KONE

Choose Your Persona and Explore the Station of the Future Yourself

Stations of the Future tackled station design from different perspectives.

In the study many solutions associated with each stage of a user’s journey have been identified, using journey mapping to understand the main stages of passenger experience and identify essential touchpoints for improvement in a station.

Now, how about experiencing the Stations of the Future yourself?

To summarise project results, UITP and KONE have developed a new platform highlighting all investigated solutions and how they can improve stations.

Based on three unique passenger personas, users can experience a different journey flow, browsing through a wide variety of solutions. Of course, it’s also possible to check out all the solutions at once!

The three personas used in the Stations of the Future journeys

Contact Us

Daria KUZMINA

Head of Rail Unit
Knowledge & Innovation